Short Story Drabbles
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: A series of one-shots or random ideas I'm not sure how will go over with the fans. Any idea that randomly pops in my head will likely be posted unless I have more than four chapters. This will mostly be for Harry Potter and HP crossovers. Will also include older works.
1. Hawk-Eyed Charlie Chapter One

Normally he was a sound sleeper, but when the lights abruptly go off and you hear people talking in the middle of the bloody night followed by the sound of an engine that definitely needed maintenance along with the loudest sobbing you ever heard, well you tend to get up to see what was going on.

Charles "Hawk-Eyed Charlie" Potter was a retired sniper and member of the Royal Air Force gunners division before a lucky shot during the war took out his plane and he had nightmares of nearly dying in the crash. He had moved to Little Whinging to live out his retirement because nothing much happened in Surrey. Everyone in the neighborhood liked him to a point, despite the fact that he had all his old guns stored in the basement and still tested them occasionally.

They never reported it because, well, the man was a retired sniper and he had explained two years ago that he was only testing them. He never let the children see them or took them out of the basement.

Even the nosy Dursley family across the street respected him for his service during the war. Aside from occasionally going to see some old war buddies in London twice a month, Charlie didn't go out much.

However that was all about to change on this cold November night.

Charlie watched as the old man laid the package on the doorstep of the Dursley family without even letting them know about the delivery. He frowned, and got his slip-on shoes to walk across the street.

What he found there had him furious. It was an infant with only a worn blanket to keep him warm and not even a proper carrier! There wasn't even a wicker basket to help the poor kid retain warmth. He picked up the tiny tyke and noticed the note. Reading it, his anger only grew.

This Dumbledore expected Petunia to care for her nephew without bothering to ask her? And he said that the child had to stay whether or not they wanted him, some farce about blood wards.

Well that wouldn't do at all.

Charlie took the kid back into his house and noticed the poor boy needed a nappy change. Unfortunately he didn't have any and it looked like whoever had left him there hadn't bothered to include a diaper bag.

There was only one option. He took the kid with him, securing him as best he could without the proper carrier and went to the only place that was still open at two in the morning on a holiday.

**DING!**

"Can I help you sir?" asked the woman bored.

"Yep. Can you direct me to the toddlers and infants section?"

The woman blinked, then noted he had a child.

"He yours?"

"Some moron was daft enough to leave this poor kid on a doorstep without even a proper carrier, a diaper bag, or even a toy. All they left was some half-assed note. Don't know about you, but that doesn't seem right to me," said Charlie, his tone saying exactly what he thought of such people.

The woman, a mother of two, blinked then her eyes hardened.

"They just left the kid there? Only a note?!"

"Yup. Kid needs a diaper change too."

She didn't need to hear any more about such a blatant act of child neglect. She helped Charlie get all the things he would need immediately like food (the kid was at least a year old, and that meant somewhat solid foods), an infant carrier (which included lessons on how the hell to attach it with the seat belts and which way it had to face), diapers and other paraphernalia associated with changing a toddler, and a few toys for kids his age.

Charlie left the store feeling a hell of a lot better about things now that he could properly take care of the kid. At the very least he had spared the poor tyke from dealing with that horse-faced bint Petunia.

* * *

It was the news of the neighborhood. Someone had left an infant on old Charlie's doorstep and he had adopted the kid as a grandson. Everything was above the board and entirely legal. James 'Jamie' Potter was a happy toddler who had no idea how close he came to living with his less than tolerant relative.

As the years passed, it was clear that the kid was good for Charlie. Little Jamie got him to associate with the rest of the people in his neighborhood, not to mention livened up his house.

Of course there was the slight issue of the crazy cat lady Arabella Figg paying a little too much attention to Charlie and Jamie, but Charlie put an end to the rumors that he was dating her by pointing out he was a happily widowed man who had a grandson to spoil/train.

* * *

"_Hawk, what's your position over?"_ said a voice over his headset.

"This is Hawk, I'm in position and ready to go," said a ten-year old with green eyes and close-cropped black hair. On his right shoulder was a patch that labeled him as a senior cadet. Beneath that was another that claimed him to be a sniper, mechanic and basic field medic. He could set a broken bone and place a tourniquet with expert ease.

"_We're in position here. Just waiting for the Game Master to tell us to start,"_ said the other voice.

A loud horn blared into the forest. This was his favorite training exercise, because they were supplied with arms and told to kill the enemy.

"_FIRE!"_

The sound of thuds and cursing was heard as the rounds hit their targets. No one wanted to be on the opposite team when he was the leader, they always lost.

Mostly because his grandfather cheerfully showed him how to snipe targets at a distance. He could kill and gut a rabbit in five minutes flat.

"TIME!" yelled the adult watching the exercise. Once again Hawk got the highest kill count. They only let him join this game because they needed an extra.

"Winner is the red team!" yelled the Teacher.

Hawk slung his paintball gun around his shoulder after unloading it.

"Way to go Jamie!" said his friend Paul.

"The undisputed champion of the mock battles!" cheered the red team.

Jamie had, from the first time he had participated in the mock battles with paint ball guns and markers in place of knives, beaten anyone he came across. This was because every time he played he always took a spot that was damn near impossible to see and sniped everyone on the opposite teams. And he was always assigned green, so he tended to have a higher kill count than everyone else.

"So you signing up for Cabin boy again?" asked Jake.

"Yup! Grandpa said that if I want something I have to earn the cash for it. Something about not turning out like our neighbors," said Jamie.

Jamie had many stories about the neighborhood bully Dudley Dursley. He never tried anything with Jamie around because every time he tried, even when he had his gang, he always ended up with his ass kicked and a pair of black eyes.

Petunia would have complained, but Charlie always shut up the two blowhards by pointing out his grandson was attending a better school and did his service to Queen and Country, whereas Dudley's highest ambition was to merely join his father's company.

Vernon never did like having that pointed out. He tried to get Dudley into the same military academy Jamie attending, but less than a month in, and Dudley was kicked out. Charlie even tried to keep the boy in, since he was of the opinion that the boy needed a firm hand in order to avoid being the waste of space he already was.

"So where did they say they were heading this summer?" asked Jake.

"Hawaii. I love being on those big ships, even if I do have to keep the others in line," said Jamie.

Jamie signed up every year for cabin boy duty in the Queen's Navy. He got paid minimum wage, had to work on the ship doing the worst jobs, and was at sea for two months. Because he had done it so many times, he was Senior Cabin Boy. It was a summer program designed to give the cadets a chance to see what life was really like working in the military.

Jamie would rather be working in the Royal Air Force for the summer, but those slots were only available for age fifteen and up, and those kids had to have a good record in the Navy first.

He was already a shoo-in for one of the slots.

Jamie looked up when he saw the owls flying above.

"Looks like it's that time of year again... Why anyone would use messenger owls is beyond me," he said.

"The owls coming again? Where do they even go?" asked Paulie.

"Can't tell ya...it's part of a simple trick to weed out the unworthy," said Jamie.

"You know where they go?"

"Followed them a couple years ago to this small building full of them. Ever since I've been stuck going to extra classes," said Jamie, making a face.

Classes like mundane-born orientation, Laws and by-laws of the Ministry, and Gringotts money-management. He still had no idea what his instructors meant when they said it would come in handy once he turned eleven.

"Come to think of it, I have a class in thirty. See you later Paulie!" said Jamie, placing his paintball gun inside the cabinet. They weren't allowed to use them outside of training exercises, seeing as how some of the boys still needed to grow up.

* * *

"Potter, James!" called out the drill sergeant.

"Here!"

"You got three letters. Scotland, Ireland and an affiliate branch over in America. You get a one-week leave for home in order to discuss this with your guardian. Here is the address to the Alley that will explain everything for you, I would advise you to check it out," said the sergeant.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"So they sent the letters. Well, lets get into the car then, no point putting this off," said Charlie.

"Huh?"

"Your instructors gave me a call the day you found the Owlery. Said that the letters had a good chance of coming when you hit eleven, so I had best be prepared. Some of them seemed a mite disappointed that I didn't react like the others had."

"Didn't you work with some people who could do odd things during the war?" asked Jamie, getting into the car.

"Captain Longbottom and Private First class Bones. Friendliest people with powers I ever met. Strange folk though...kept using these polished sticks to get most of their work done. And don't get me started on the things they wrote with..."

An hour's drive later, and they were in London.

Thankfully the note also included directions to the stores next to this...Leaky Cauldron.

"Cauldron, eh? I heard about that place from Longbottom. Supposedly has the best roast with onions and potatoes this side of Hogsmeade, wherever that is. He always tried to get me to join him and Bones for a pint, but I never had time," said Charlie.

Charlie parked his car at the Veteren's Association, which is where he went for his monthly meetings with old friends. Jamie was well acquainted with the place, having learned how to fight from a few of the members. He got his first knife from one of Charlie's old platoon.

Coincidentally it was three blocks from the Leaky Cauldron. Charlie was surprised to be able to see it, considering he had never gone with Longbottom or Bones for a pint before.

This was the beginning of a _long_ series of surprises for that day.

First was the warning they got about the strange scar on Jamie's head. One of the other veteran's lent him a baseball cap to cover it, saying the poor boy would be mobbed otherwise.

Then there was the mob _Charlie _got when someone recognized him. The thing was, Charlie had no idea who the man was.

Finally, the two had enough and went straight to Gringotts.

And there things too a turn for the bizarre.

"It can't be Charles Potter!" said one of the squat creatures behind the tellers.

"Hmm? What's it to you stranger? And why is everyone making a fuss about me today?"

The creature swore in goblin before directing them to an office. But word had already begun to spread that the grandfather of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was alive.

"Charles Potter. By all rights you should be dead after that attack," said the goblin bluntly.

"Why the hell is everyone making a fuss about me being alive?!"

"First we need to confirm it really is you before we do anything. Can you come over to this other room so we can get this over with?"

"Will I get an explanation as to what the bloody hell is going on?"

"After the test."

A few drops later, and Charlie was sitting in the chair nursing a massive headache.

"First things first, what do you remember of the year 1978?"

"Aside from enlisting in the Royal Air Force after some Colonel found me wandering the side of the road, not much. He dropped me off at the nearest Air base where they patched me up and I took them on the offer to enlist. I was a gunner in one of the planes before a lucky shot took us down and I became a sniper until I retired over a decade ago."

"First off, you are a veteran of the Second World War. You used to pilot one of the planes before a lucky hit got you and you decided to help on the magical side. You were missing, presumed dead after a Death Eater raid that destroyed your small town house and left your wife dead. We assumed you had been killed as well," said the goblin.

"I knew I was a fighter pilot in the war! Because of my fear of planes, they allowed me to become a sniper instead."

"Now who is the boy you brought with you?"

Jamie removed his cap, and the goblin swore.

"I applaud you common sense. Had the people in the Cauldron seen you, you would have been mobbed for sure. Ever since Dumbledore claims to have left you with your muggle relatives, people have been awaiting your return."

"Hold on a moment. Would these relatives be Petunia and Vernon Dursley?"

"I would assume so, why?"

"Can I have an appointment with this...Dumbledore? I want to have _words_ with him about leaving an infant on a doorstep in the beginning of a cold November," growled Charlie.

"...Mind if we do it where the goblins can get a good view? Dumbledore has mishandled the Potter funds, and we would like to see the old goat get what's due to him."

Charlie gave a shark-like grin in return.

"Now, about my grandson's schooling..."

In the end they decided on Hogwarts, though it was with the agreement that Jamie would be allowed to change schools if he felt that Hogwarts wasn't up to their standards. Plus there was the fact he had already signed up for the two month stint on a British airship carrier as usual. Which meant arrangements had to be made so that he could catch up once that was over and transport to the school.

As far as Dumbledore was concerned, the school which Jamie attended didn't end until then.

First thing Charlie did was load up on any books he thought of use, occasionally calling his friends in the VA for advice.

Once they learned that he was magical, they had all sorts of tips for him, some not so friendly.

That sort of advice Charlie always took with stride, because as he always explained to his friends, he was still loyal to his wife.

At least now he had her name. Because of the head injury he took, all he could remember of it was that it started with a D and her maiden name was Black.

Before they left the Alley, Charlie did make a final pit stop in Gringotts for the name of his grandson's godfather. Any child of the Potter family had one, and he had the feeling Jamie was no exception.

They left that day nursing a headache and with a new pet. Jamie didn't particularly like owls, as he had to help clean out the Owlry at his school, but he was partial to snakes and dogs. Unfortunately they didn't allow exotic pets like that.

However Charlie knew his grandson, and he had little doubt that the boy would find a way to sneak his German Shepard puppy into that school.

He chuckled...that would prove entertaining.


	2. Ebony Chapter One

The castle was burning, and the lord and lady were dead. Their heads cut off by sword.

The young heir was missing, and everyone believed the Black Lord had either killed him or missed him entirely.

The land was in mourning over the death of Lord and Lady Potter. Lady Potter's cruel sister, Petunia, took over the rule until the heir could be found.

A small baby with brown hair, almost black, was crying in the stable the night of the deed, and not found until morning by Petunia's suitor.

Thus began the story of Ebony, and his tale is not for those of weak heart.

* * *

As far as he could remember, he had been called Boy, or Stable. But when he was finally trusted enough to take care of the King's Horse, a striking Ebony colored stallion which according to his keeper belonged to the Lord who ruled before the murder.

For some reason he felt like he had seen this horse when he was an infant, which was impossible. According to his keeper he was the son of a prostitute who gave him to Vernon in exchange for a huge debt.

Since he loved the horse, he decided to call himself Ebony.

All the horses behaved only when it was Ebony who took care of them, and reared if Vernon or anyone else went close. Particularly the king horse. Ebony had a knack for choosing a good horse, so Vernon had him pick them for clients. But something was obviously off about the horses he sold. If the owner was cruel or neglectful, it somehow reappeared in the stable in less than a month.

So Vernon made a huge profit selling them to cruel masters and getting them back.

Either way, things were calm.

Ebony was in charge of the stables, and even slept there instead of the mansion Vernon owned thanks to him. Vernon was by far a cruel man, and only let him go to school long enough for him to learn how to read, write and do math. He beat him whenever Ebony couldn't his chores, even if the reason was obvious, like he was sick.

Ebony's only friends were the horses he took care of, and when he turned eight, a stray dog that Vernon only allowed him to keep when the horses refused to do anything unless Ebony was there. He named it Sirius, after the star.

(Vernon had no idea that the boy he had reluctantly sent to the school was a quick learner, and had already master math and language. Ebony had stayed there longer only to learn the constellations he stared at every night.)

Sirius was surprising, a very smart dog that the horses answered to. He could bring them in without Ebony's help, once they got used to him being there. It made his job easier, so he didn't mention it. It also curled up next to him in the king's stable, where Ebony made his nest each night.

The only reason Vernon even allowed him to stay there was to prevent thieves.

* * *

Ebony was eleven, the age that all children were required to head to the town and be evaluated. The lucky ones would be chosen by the Wizard's Court, or an apprenticeship. Ebony was forced to stay in the stables for the week, and he never got the chance.

All the children his age were either living at their new master's house or in the capital for training in the Court.

The Court! How he wished he could at least see someone from the Court. Each and every single noble in the land was Court trained. Including Lord and Lady Potter!

The Court of Wizards were an exclusive group of masters, who could wield magic and support the aging king, Albus Dumbledore. At any time the king could call upon the Court for something as small as justice to fighting in the army. To be picked was to guarantee noble-ship for life, or at least mayor-ship.

But the Court came with it's own price. To be singled out first whenever the Dark King struck. He had been quiet recently since the Lord and Lady died, but everyone knew the Dark King wanted their home. Ebony's main concern was the stables, and not getting a beating.

* * *

Sirius Black, the Lord of the Black lands was furious. Ever since he had convinced his blood brother to use Peter instead of him, everything had gone downhill! Why could they never see Peter was the spy to the Dark King!

Now that he had escaped, his original plan had gone out the window once he saw the boy in the stables. He was hiding the tears he felt from pain, and Sirius could see it all. If he had his lands back, he would have adopted the child in an instant without a thought. James always did say he was a softie under all that fur.

Probably why he sponsored all those orphaned waifs at the Court.

The boy was definitely abused by his keeper. No way he was related to the fat pig who owned the stables. The child curled up next to the largest stallion he had ever seen in his life...and why the hell did it look so damn familiar?!

The stallion saw him, and would have reared if the child hadn't been asleep next to it.

_'YOU! BETRAYER!'_

Sirius was the one who jumped.

**HOLY CRAP! That's James' horse!** was all that flashed through his mind.

_'BEGONE BETRAYER OF BLOOD!'_

Sirius snorted.

**'Betrayer of blood, right. I never would have betrayed my blood brother. I abandoned my own lands so I could help James against my own king, remember?'**

The horse calmed down and looked him in the eye. Sirius willed his memories of the truth to the horse, and it settled.

_'So Peter was the traitor. Very well.'_

Sirius nodded to the child, and it snorted.

_'The fat one hopes that the child will be of some use eventually. He forces the boy to work even in the dead of winter. But the boy is kind and takes good care of the others. Even the more wild ones.'_

**'Kid have a name?'**

_'The fat one calls him Boy, but the child calls himself Ebony...after me apparently.'_

Sirius curled up next to the child, and a bond was formed.

A broken Lord, and an abused child with no home.

* * *

Ebony was twelve and it was assessment time again. Once again he was locked in the stables, until the Court left. He began to realize that his keeper was afraid of something. But what?

* * *

Thirteen, and he hadn't seen Sirius or the younger foal all day. He was really worried about them, and knew Vernon would notice the missing foal before long. Maybe the centaur herd beyond the fence knew where they were? He did visit them as often as he could without getting caught.

They loved the boy who acted more like a horse than human. The fact that he would often listen about the stars, and asked which was which only made them love him more.

If only the Regent Petunia would allow them to adopt the child into the herd! But no, she was a normal human who only tolerated magic because the King allowed her to rule. Her consort, the man who ran the stables, was a cruel human and they hated him. The King allowed them the forests out of respect, but would never allow them to wage war, especially over a human child.

A commotion outside, and he dared to look.

"SIRIUS!"

Ebony ran to his only friend, and took the foal inside. Why the hell did his hound look so damn smug?! Then he noticed the people before him. He gulped silently, Vernon was going to be pissed.

It was the Court. He had completely forgotten that he was forbidden to go outside when they were in the town. And the woman before him really made him nervous, with her strict aura.

Ebony had always been able to see auras, but he kept it to himself. And with good reason. Vernon would kill him without a thought if he knew.

Vernon came outside, saw him and tried to hold his rage back in front of the Court.

The Lady looked at him sternly, clearly furious about something.

"Why is this child not at the Court?"

Ebony stood there with his arms around Sirius, stunned. Was this why Vernon locked him in the stables every assessment?

"The boy is addled and can barely do simply chores with the horses."

The Lady took a good look at the horses, particularly the foal which they had been chasing for causing trouble in the square.

Ebony saw the mischievous look in it's eye, and said clearly "Fin, no! You've done enough mischief for today. That goes for you too Sirius!"

The Lady saw the foal back down, and go into the stall without prompting. Every horse in there was well cared for, and clearly intelligent. Seeing the odd bumps on their backs, she knew something was off about them.

The king stallion reared, and something broke from it's back. The others followed suit, and soon feathers filled the air.

The stable was full of Pegasi!

Seeing the evident surprise on their faces, it was clear the horses had kept their wings in. The dog barked, and nudged the child to the Lady.

"Sirius quit it! What has gotten into you?"

The child was not addled, and the Pegasi listened to him alone.

They were running low on messenger horses.

Suddenly the centaur herd came out, and she spoke to them. Whatever was said between them was obviously enough for her to come to a decision.

"Stable-master Vernon, you are under arrest for fraud, abuse and neglect. The Pegasi shall be requisitioned for the King's stables, and the child shall go to the Court. Where he SHOULD have been for the past two years."

Vernon lost it, and tried to attack her.

He fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Ebony couldn't believe what was happening. He awoke that morning knowing something big was going to happen...but he usually got that feeling every year on this date anyway.

It was the day he picked out for his birthday. The thirty first of Silversun.

He was on the king mare, who refused to let anyone but him near it. He patted the neck affectionately as he said quietly "You're being unusually stubborn today."

The horse...no Pegasi if what the Lady had called it was true, snorted.

Ebony was an expert rider. He had to be, in order to break the fillies and foals that came from the other Pegasi. Because he was around them constantly, he was the only person who rode them at that age. That and he was the lightest person who could do it.

The other pegasi followed him without a single halter or rope. It had baffled the Court until they realized that they regarded the small boy as part of the herd. They were well trained then. One of the younger members tried to chat up the small boy leading the herd, but it was clear he wasn't used to talking to people, period. He was extremely shy.

"Nymphadora leave the child alone!" scolded the Lady.

The girl's hair turned an interesting shade of red.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" the girl growled.

Ebony gaped. How had her hair turned from black to red?

She then saw his look and explained. He was still very shy though, until the king made a comment.

_'Why not treat them like horses? She could be a new filly.'_

It was sound advice, and soon they had something akin to a conversation going. He was still shy though.

* * *

The King was interested in the child. After hearing how he had been overlooked, he watched as the boy put the pegasi through the paces without trying. Even the large stallion listened to his commands, which was unusual.

Even if the herd regarded him as one of their own, why did the king still listen?

Time to meet the boy.

Ebony watched the old man walk to him. He had no idea who he was, or why his aura was skewed. Still, he kept the king nearby.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" the man commented.

Ebony kept his guard up. He so did not trust that twinkle in the man's eye.

"I suppose sir," he said.

The man tried to keep the conversation going, but obviously no one had told him how shy he was.

Eventually he left, and Ebony went back to the horses.

* * *

Rumors were abound in the castle about the overlooked child. He was rumored to be half horse, which was ridiculous. Centaurs would never send one of their own to become a wizard.

Eventually everyone figured it out, if only because he was the only new face that wasn't eleven; though with how small he was he was easily mistaken for one. It didn't help that he always smelled of horses.

Still, he did managed to catch up on his training in less than a month, once they explained things so he could understand. He even had his own room, though he rarely stayed there. He preferred the sanity of stable work to the oddness of the halls.

Sirius turned out to be a major help in studying, by using his uncommon amount of intelligence to request books for him. The librarian had gotten used to the dog taking books to it's master. Even if it was damned familiar to her.

Not that the Lady Sakura would admit that the dog was familiar. She ruled the library with an iron fist and screeched at anyone caught harming her precious reading material...or found in her section of the library without her permission.

Oh yes, everyone knew what happened to those foolish enough to be caught in THAT section without her consent. She made damn sure not to kill or maim them, but that sure didn't stop her from making the punishment public...and she had a hell of a sadistic side.

Not that the King would protect them from her wrath.

* * *

Ebony was in class yet again, this time learning about history. Or he was supposed to anyway. That bloody ghost put everyone to sleep without trying! So instead he was using it for something more constructive, reading. He loved books, and swore to himself never to harm them. (Especially after the incident where a red head named Ron ripped the cover of a book and the librarian had him outside cleaning all the tallest windows...wearing a frilly pink dress with bows in his hair.)

He had heard that the Lady of the Library was very interested in sponsoring him, whatever that was. When he finally worked up the courage to ask, he found out.

If someone sponsors you, it means you're set until you start to earn a steady income after schooling. It also means that you would serve under whoever sponsored you if called into service.

A week after learning that, the Lady made decision and was now his sponsor. He didn't actually mind because he liked her.

For all her craziness and sadist ways to those who vexed her, she was really kind and gentle. Especially to those who treated the books with respect. She also snuck him apples and sugar cubes for the Pegasi.

* * *

A full year of living at the Court, and Ebony learned a lot. Like how to avoid the dour Lord Severus whenever he was brewing a potion, escape the attention of the King, and that if you were good and showed respect to the Lady Minerva you didn't have to do the regular chores.

He got along best with Lord Remus, the ruler of the werewolf clans. For some reason he hit it off with the usual sad man.

A month after his fourteenth birthday, he heard something interesting.

The Dark King was sending one of his Lords to negotiate. In the meantime the Lord's son would attend school with the other Court initiates.

Naturally this was met with suspicion, but they couldn't do anything about it. It was sent in the spirit of peace after all.

The fanfare could be heard all the way to the stables, and it annoyed the Pegasi greatly. Ebony quieted them down, enough that they didn't throw off the riders.

Ever since he had arrived, it was clear the Pegasi would only do as told if he were nearby. Which is the only reason he was allowed to teach the novice riders how to care for a horse properly.

While he was shy around people, he could raise his voice when it came to horses.

Ebony saw a new face about his age. The boy had platnium blond hair _(was that actually natural or did he get hit by the twins?)_ and quick silver eyes _(no way he got hit by the twins. ~Pause~ I really have to quit hanging around Crazy Lady so much.)_

There is something to be said of the Librarian. She loved pranks. And for some bizarre reason, not only did NOT mind being called crazy but she actually encouraged it! She even loved being called a sadistic, evil woman. (Hence why if you mentioned Crazy Lady, everyone knew you were talking about her.)

The boy looked interested in the Pegasi, and went to approach one. It was obvious he had experience with horses, since he breathed into the nose of one. The pegasi was a foal, and well trained at that. It let him pet it, calm as ever.

Ebony immediately liked him.

The boy walked up to him, and held out his hand.

"Draco," he said.

"From the dead tongue meaning dragon. Ebony," he replied, seeing the boy's eyes widen in surprise.

"From the color of black."

Ebony smiled, and gave a few of the girls who worked with him fainting spells.

* * *

Since Ebony turned out to be the only student willing to give Draco a chance, he was chosen to show the boy around. It shocked everyone in the castle when they heard Ebony's voice, most for the first time. Draco seemed to pull the quietest boy in the place out of his shell.

Eventually the twins asked Draco his secret.

"Secret? What secret?"

"How in the name of magic do you get him to talk? Most days we can barely get a word out of him!" said Fred.

Draco was mildly surprised about that. Sure Ebony didn't talk his ears off like the girl the Dark King was planning on making his Lady, but he wasn't a quiet boy either.

"I don't know. He started talking to me when I went to see the infamous stables."

George looked at him in surprise.

"Our stables are infamous?"

Now Draco looked surprised.

"You didn't know? The Court's stables have been infamous for over a year now. Everyone knows if you want a good horse you should get them from there. Everywhere else pales in comparison...and from what I hear the Dark King is pissed off about that."

The twins looked amused.

"We do have a secret weapon with horses. Maybe that's why."

"They have been behaving more than they used to..." said George.

"What secret weapon?"

"You've already met him. Hell, you've gotten him to talk when everyone has been trying for months!"

Draco liked Ebony, mainly because he didn't care about the fact he was from the Dark King's Court. Or the fact that he was being sponsored by the grumpy Lord Severus. It was clear that Draco enjoyed spending time with Ebony in the stables, where they shared a common interest.

All too soon they had to leave, but Draco left with something not even the Dark King could figure out.

How the Court had gained well behaved and stronger horses.

* * *

The Dark King was furious. All this time he believed that the old coot who ruled the other kingdom had found a secret spell to improve his animals, and the entire time it was a shy boy who loved animals!

So he did the only thing he could. He ordered the boy to be kidnapped.

* * *

Ebony woke with a start. Something wasn't right. Then he realized what it was.

He wasn't in his room or the stables.

Looking around in a panic, he tried to find a way out. When the door opened, he backed away quickly. The man in front of him had the most sinister aura he had ever seen. And his eyes...they were cold as ice.

"Hello little wizard. Do you know who I am?"

Ebony stayed quiet.

"I am the Dark King Slytherin."

Ebony was terrified. How the hell did he catch HIS eye?

"You will tell me everything you know about animals, and maybe I will let you live."

* * *

The king stallion reared, and no one could find Ebony. He was the only one who could calm the stallion down. Suddenly everyone stared, as the usual pegasi feathers came out.

Before they could react, it took off into the night.

Ebony was terrified, as the Dark King sent his most fearsome servants to find out his secret. They would never believe it was because the horses were the only friends he ever had in his life. Or that his keeper forced him to sleep in the stables each night.

There was a commotion outside, and he dared to look.

It was the king stallion, majestic and flying!

As if sensing his stare, it galloped up the tower to the room. Draco happened to be in the room with him, to try and help him calm down. Even the Dark King noticed that Ebony only felt comfortable enough to talk around the boy.

The stallion broke the door down. Draco had an idea, and blew a hole in the wall, large enough for a horse and rider to get through. He then turned to them, with a sad smile on his face.

"Can't stay here anymore."

The stallion allowed both to get on, and took off out the hole. It was in the moonlight that Draco noticed something.

The stallion not only had wings, but a horn of pure silver and gold. His gasp of realization was drowned out by the wind. It took them the entire night to reach the Court, and by then it was in a state of panic.

All except for a dog and crazy woman, who spotted the horse.

They managed to get off, and Ebony was swarmed by several people. The twins, the Lady, the librarian, the werewolf lord and surprisingly enough, Lord Severus! Sirius ponced on him, his tail going a mile a minute.

Severus was the first to spot the other rider and said in disbelief, "Draco?!"

Ebony spoke up, shocking everyone.

"He helped me escape."

They stared, except the librarian who looked very smug.

"Did I, or did I not say the idiot who runs the other kingdom kidnapped him?"

"What happened Ebony?" asked Lady Minerva.

"I woke up in a room I didn't recognize and someone claiming to be Dark King Slytherin was there. According to him he wanted my secret in controlling animals."

Draco looked sheepish, "I may have mentioned that Ebony was responsible for the well behaved pegasi to my father."

Lord Severus knew the boy didn't mean any harm to Ebony, since he was the only person to befriend Draco.

"And since Lucius is loyal to the Dark King he let it slip to him. And being a power hungry monarch he had you kidnapped," he deduced.

The librarian was very smug, as she had guessed what had happened right off. She was also the only one who could calm down the horses with Ebony gone. And she managed to keep Sirius from driving them insane by telling him to look through her section of the library. It kept him occupied for hours and most importantly quiet.

No one except a very rare few even knew what she kept in that section. Those that did kept a tight lip in case she banned them. Rumor was that she kept addictive spell books or books that controlled you in it.

(Not true, in fact her collection is the most extensive of the subject, or related subject. Not that the King even knew what she had in there, he only agreed to let her put them there for a select few that she would choose.)

So when Draco finally said something again, he had most of the people there looking at him in shock and disbelief.

"Hey Ebony, why didn't you tell me your last name was Potter?"

Everyone either gaped or looked at him like he was nuts.

"What?" seemed to be the general consensus.

"You mean you didn't notice the horn on that stallion's head when we were flying?"

They turned to the stallion. He wasn't kidding, it did have a horn along with those wings.

"And the only pegasi with a horn is the one belonging to the Potters," said Lady Sakura, seeing where he got the idea.

"My keeper did say that the king stallion used to belong to the Lord of the castle," admitted Ebony.

"But why didn't it reveal that earlier?" asked Fred.

A new voice spoke up...one that should still be behind bars.

"I had a feeling he was James' son. No one else could control that bloody horse other than James."

Ebony turned, and saw something around the new person's neck. It was a collar he had given the dog that was his only friend when he earned money helping out in the library. It had the constallation of the Dog along with the name.

"Sirius?"

Apparently there was a reason everyone respected the librarian. She was the one to vouch for the man and kept him from being hexed nine ways to Moonsday.

"Sirius Black would not have been able to get close to Ebony when he was with the stallion unless he could prove he wasn't responsible for the death of his blood brother James."

The King himself was still suspicious, until Lady Sakura gave him a clear look.

"Tell you what, if you agree to give him a chance and let him plead his case with a truth serum and memory viewer, I will allow you and one of the others into my section of the library."

That was a rare offer indeed. Lady Sakura jealously guarded that section, and the extremely rare few who knew what it held after sneaking in had been gagged into secrecy...and if they had taken care of those books allowed in anyway. Ebony had a pass into there once he hit 15.

The King reluctantly allowed it. Even he was curious as to what she had in there. The only Lord in the Court who was allowed in there was Remus, and that was because and he qouted her about this 'I like wolves'.

* * *

Everyone was in a state of shock as Lord Pettigrew was given the choice of the gallows or permanent banishment. Lord Black received all his titles and money back, and reinstated as a Court Master.

Though no one could believe the King's reaction to finally finding out what Lady Sakura kept in her section. Or Lord Severus.

Neither of them could look her in the eye for three months once they finally found out. She cackled at the sight of their blushed faces, and everyone really wanted to know what she did to them. The King wasn't a young wizard after all.

But perhaps the biggest shock of all was that the shy horse master, Ebony, was in fact the missing Potter heir. It at least explained why the Regent had treated him like trash and why Vernon had given him that tripe story about his mother. Everyone knew Petunia despised her sister.

The other rumor that the missing Potter heir had convince the heir of one of the Dark King's most loyal supporters into joining the other side was a mere side note.

In a rage, the Dark King began to train his forces to prepare for something. Everyone feared war was soon on it's way.


	3. Demons Abound Chapter One

_**Cyber cookies to everyone who figures out what this is crossed with!**_

* * *

One would think a man his age would know better. Or at least read the papers more often.

Albus Dumbledore, in all of his hundred years of experience, had never come across this problem before.

His savior of the magical communities, Harry Potter, was gone. Not dead, as he had frantically checked when he heard, but gone from his aunt's with little to no explanation.

All he could get from the woman was that someone had reported abuse that he couldn't get rid of, and had taken him someplace else. She never cared to ask where.

That someone was called the I.S., though he had no idea what that meant.

Strangely enough, had he actually picked up a paper within the last forty years, he would have learned that the muggles (as they called the non magical folk) had already learned that werewolves, vampires, elves, demons and witches were not only alive and thriving, but they lived among humanity for years.

And they had graciously (well, almost) come to accept that fact. Mostly because the Inderlanders (as they called themselves) and Humans lived separately enough to keep the boundaries there, but still close enough that they had daily contact with each other.

Everyone had come out of the Dark Ages, having lived with humanity since the beginning.

Everyone but the magical communities that based their magic solely on wand use and incantations. They were mostly still ignorant, and they caused no end of problems for the rest of the Inderlanders.

It was so bad that ley-line and earth witches usually said the word 'wizard' as a curse. Warlocks, those with magic but no skill in creating their own charms, were rather happy to be above wizards in the magical totem pole.

So it was with no small sense of glee that the I.S. (those who policed the Inderlanders) took what was clearly a wizard child and placed him in an Inderland foster home.

The repercussions of such a trick would reverberate for years to come.

* * *

Christopher, named after the patron Saint of Travelers, which was something of an ongoing joke between him and his friends, was bored. And when he was bored he generally did only one thing when he was grounded from pranks.

He called demons up to chat. It wasn't illegal, just really stupid, because demons tended to be cranky and pissed when called into a circle. And when cranky/pissed, they killed the summoner.

That had never happened to Chris once, because he did something the other summoners didn't. Before he had ever made a summoning circle, he had made a mirror to talk to people in the ever after before summoning.

As a result, the demons he tended to talk to at least had a heads up that he was bringing them over.

It made them much easier to deal with.

So he got out his mirror, and made a call to anyone who was open to chat.

_Calling all open lines. Anyone up to chat? I got grounded from my prank supplies again._

A series of negatives went through the line, except for one. Newt and Minias were open, and they actually rather liked him. Particularly Newt, who adored him because he didn't mind her craziness and could calm her down without hurting her.

That was mostly why Minias liked him as well. Chris was the only person this side of the lines who could calm Newt down without getting killed for it.

As a result of that, Minias sometimes dumped Newt on Chris for a few hours while he got something personal done. Chris didn't mind, because Newt usually gave him new demonic charms to invoke that wouldn't land him in jail.

Chris was one of the extremely rare people who could invoke a demonic charm. He had inherited it from his mother, though his father definitely never knew about it. Because he was in regular contact with demons, the enzyme in his blood never turned deadly.

Well, that and Minias had worked a little demon magic to keep it from killing him. He wasn't going to ask.

"Hello Christopher," said Minias.

"Hey Minnie," said Chris, grinning. He hated that nickname, but it made Newt laugh so he dealt with it.

"So what did you do this time to get banned from pranks?"

"I accidentally hit the headmaster with a shave charm. It's not my fault Paul bumped into me while I was invoking it!" said Chris, unrepentant.

Minias raised an eyebrow.

"That's the best excuse you could come up with?"

"Spur of the moment, considering the charm?"

"Point."

Chris rather liked talking to demons. Unlike his roommates in the church orphanage, they were intelligent and didn't have a problem with his quirks. Speaking of quirks...

"Hey, have you ever heard of a school called Hogwarts? I got this weird message through an owl and my roommates are looking rather pissed at me for some reason."

"You have got to be kidding me. I knew your scent was odd, but I didn't think _that_ was the reason!" said Minias.

"Hah?"

"The only way you would get an invitation to Hogwarts...is if you're a wizard born. And for reasons we have yet to understand, they still refuse to come out in the open. They're firmly in the dark ages."

"Wizard? Bugger...that explains the looks. Don't these idiots know I'm strictly an Inderlander? I never get up before noon!"

"And there's more. Judging by that envelope you handed me, they may believe you're the Boy-who-lived. They have this curse that kills people with a touch, and the kid survived it."

"Not my fault they have weak cores," Chris scoffed.

Minias grinned evilly. He found wizards to be more irritating than idiots who summoned him without asking. Chris was possibly the _only_ summoner in the world who could bring one out without worrying about being killed.

"What should I do? If I accept, my friends won't talk to me, and if I don't, then the idiots still come after me."

Minias looked at him with open amusement.

"Accept and make their lives hell for the next seven years. Once you make it clear that you're an Inderlander through and through, they will have to seriously rethink their ideas of staying in the dark. Most of the pure bloods don't even realize the world already accepts witches and warlocks."

Chris suddenly brightened. He would probably get back into their good graces if he made the lives of wizards hell for forcing him to go to their closed off school.

It wasn't like the vampire that ran the orphanage was going to complain. Hell, the man might even give him pointers to really piss them off!

"You've just given me a great idea. Thanks Minias!" said Chris cheerfully.

"Just so you know, Hogwarts _isn't_ on sanctified ground. It is however on four major ley lines that haven't been tapped since before the school was built."

His evil smirk widened even more. That much power was _begging _to be tapped, and he had the skills for it. He seriously doubted the wizards even had wards to prevent the lines from being tapped.

* * *

What greeted him a few days later (upon informing his friends and caretaker _why_ he was accepting, which had them considerably easier to live with) was the largest man he had ever seen outside the ever after.

Aside from the wild look (which didn't actually bother him considering he roomed with Were during the full moon). The man, who's name turned out to be Hagrid the gamekeeper, seemed to take his name in stride.

Apparently his resemblance to the boy-who-lived was enough to satisfy him, despite having hidden his scar rather effectively under a baseball cap. Chris wore contacts, so he wore sunglasses that the caretaker had gotten him.

The only way people would know he was supposedly the boy-who-lived is if Hagrid blabbed.

Thankfully he had ended that fairly quick by telling him that his name was Chris, not Harry. It didn't hurt that he had befriended the man by mentioning the dangerous creatures he was used to dealing with.

Hagrid had a thing for dragons, but was unable to keep one.

Chris was rather impressed by the goblins, who had recognized him for an Inderlander immediately. They seemed to think it was amusing that Hagrid had inadvertently woken everyone in the church up with his banging.

Apparently the person who had sent the letter didn't believe him when he said he slept till eleven at the earliest.

Somehow, he knew he was going to have fun with his night owl tendencies. If only for the chaos he would wreck for them waking him up.

Chris was not a morning person, and he cursed anyone stupid enough to wake him at obscene (for Inderlanders) hours of the morning. Which included anywhere from six to noon.

Hagrid was extremely lucky for the curse proof doors Carl had invested in since Chris learned how to curse using a ley line. The results wouldn't have been pretty. Particularly since Chris had just finished spelling some rather annoying charms, and had just gone to sleep about an hour ago. At seven in the morning.

Chris stepped off the cart with ease. High speeds like that wouldn't phase him, especially since he had spent an entire summer acting as a familiar for a demon and had learned to travel the lines from Newt as a reward.

Carl hadn't been happy about it, but the fact was that with Chris' tendencies to summon demons, being caught on the wrong end of the lines was a possibility, and Chris didn't want to rely on a demon he didn't know to get home. The church was built right outside a line.

* * *

Chris scooped a large amount of gold and silver into the bag, which didn't even bulge. He had traded in a favor to get the demonic equivalent of a Diplomat bag, which would make it very hard for someone from the Ministry of Magic (yeah right) to even pick up on the charms he carried.

It had an Expandable Charm, which meant he could dump a Were Pack in it and there would still be room.

He had taken three times the amount of coins needed for first year students to buy their supplies. If the Apothecary he had spotted had what he wanted, then he was so power shopping.

Most Charms shops wouldn't sell things to an unlicensed eleven year old, particularly if they were well known to make charms for Demons.

The Inderland Security's Arcane Division was still baffled as to how he kept he demon smut off his aura. He never foisted the smut onto innocent bystanders, so they couldn't charge him.

It wasn't exactly illegal to _make_ black charms, but it was to use them. Same for giving the black aura to innocent people.

Chris didn't have to. Within a month of summoning demons, he had learned quite by accident there was a soul piece in his scar. That soul piece was absorbing all the taint he gained from making black charms for demons. Not that he was going to tell the Arcane Division that.

(Little known fact: Soul pieces made a permanent demon smut mark on one's aura. There was no way to get rid of it. All Chris was doing was adding to that mark without harming others. The only downside was that it eventually became full, so he would have to find the original soul to put the rest.)

Hagrid had frowned at the amount, but said nothing. Chris waited patiently in the cart for the half giant to return, ignoring the package.

He could honestly care less about whatever errand this Dumbledore wanted the man to do.

Chris went all out at the Apothecary, since it had several things he would be hard pressed to be able to afford outside the alley. It was extremely difficult to find unicorn tail without getting gutted by the horn, and dragon scales were almost impossible to find.

When he went into the bookstore, he raised an eye at the selection.

A wizard's wand was more versatile than the ones earth witches used, but they were a pain to replace.

Still, Chris bought several books that caught his interest, and ignored Hagrid's attempts to change the books.

Next stop was the robes, but Chris only went in under protest. No one said he would have to wear the damn things outside of class.

A pale blond was getting fitted and being a brat about it.

"Great... Like dealing with _wizards_ wasn't torture enough," Chris said, not bothering to lower his voice.

The boy looked at him askance and snorted.

"Stupid Mudblood."

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Hardly. And it is considered unwise to annoy a demon summoner with several favors with demons in his belt," he replied in a drawl.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Inderlander?" he asked.

Chris nodded.

"Someone was stupid enough to wake me before noon. He's lucky the living vamp that watches us decided to spring for a spell proof door."

The boy grinned at him, and held out his hand.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Christopher. They never bothered to give me a last name, and frankly I see no need for one."

Draco seemed amused by that.

They left on neutral terms, which was better than most Inderlanders gave wizards.

Hagrid took him to the wand shop, which was the last stop. He left Chris there to get something, which was fine by him.

"Good morning," said the man from behind him.

Chris didn't flinch. He lived with a vamp for crying out loud.

"Are you an Inderlander?" asked Chris.

"You're not the first one to pass through my shop. First demonic witch I've had though," he said amused.

Chris beamed at him. He was the first to get that right on the first try.

"Ah yes, I remember your parents quite well, Mr. Potter. Your mother was a talented ley line witch, while your father was strictly an earth based one. He never knew of course."

"Please don't spread the last name around. I go by Christopher, or Chris for short," he pleaded. He hated spotlight.

"Very well Christopher, let's see which wand chooses you?" said Ollivander amused.

In the end Chris walked out with a thirteen inch redwood and yew wand with a nekomata tail for the core. Ollivander had to mix and match cores to find one for him. He wasn't too happy about the dual wood, but they were the only things that would respond naturally to Chris' aura.

Yew had a double purpose, and Chris was fairly sure the reason Ollivander had frowned so much was because it had grown in a graveyard, which increased it's potency big time.

Hagrid returned with a surprise that made Chris' bad mood for being woken up so early (for him) go away. Hagrid had gotten him an owl.

Owls could be used as familiars, but Chris was rather good at spindling ley line energy without one. Plus he would never dare to place the smut he gained every time he cast on an animal.

He liked animals, even if some of them couldn't stand being near him. Like cats. They couldn't stand him, so he claimed allergies.

The owl was white with black specks, which Chris loved immediately. Mostly because the coloring reminded him of his own soul so keenly.

Pure, except for when he gave his demon smut to the unwanted guest in his head. Whoever was stuck in there was going to pay for it in the end, once Chris could no longer give the smut to the fragment.

Then he was calling in a favor and kicking it out. It wasn't like he would miss a demon favor.

* * *

Chris felt like killing someone as he scrambled to get on the train. He was yawning like no tomorrow, since the train left at eleven and he could barely get up at ten.

This was not going to be fun at all.

Well, not for whoever was unfortunate enough to room with him anyway. He had bought a book of reversible curses so he could fulfill his need to hex anyone who woke him up before eleven.

He had promised pictures to his roommates back home. Thanks to the donation Chris had given Carl, they could finally update the kitchen and bedrooms.

Chris finally got a carriage to himself, and thanks to the charm he was wearing, got the regulation trunk up on the rack. It was full of the standard books he was forced to buy. All the real books he had were in his bag. No way was he trusting the children. He barely trusted the boys he roomed with at home.

Within a few minutes of being able to relax, he was half asleep. The Were in the cab had given him a sympathetic look, but had thankfully let him catch up on a bit of sleep.

He was jolted awake when he felt someone enter his compartment without permission.

Dealing with demons gave one a real alertness whenever something unknown entered your sphere.

He glared at the red head before him. The boy was freckled, and from the looks of him didn't understand personal space at all.

"Unless you want to be cursed from here to the ever after, I would recommend either leaving or being quiet," he growled.

Taken aback by the look in his eyes, the boy left. But a girl came in a few minutes later and looked relieved.

"Please tell me you're an Inderlander too," she complained.

"Not a morning person either?" he asked amused.

"If it wasn't for that threat the teacher gave about my magic being taken away I would still be at home sleeping," she answered back.

"Chris."

"Hermione Granger."

"So what type are you?"

"Ley line. Unfortunately I don't have a familiar so my teacher refused to show me how to tap one."

Chris grinned evilly.

"I know how and I've never used a familiar. It's just the demons prefer people didn't know how to use one without a safety net."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't happen to be Chris the demon sorcerer...?"

"That would be the nickname the I.S. saddled me with."

"Is it true that you've cast black charms without having the smut placed on your aura?"

"Trade secret. Want a tip when summoning demons?"

She nodded. She loved knowledge.

"Make a calling circle and ask if someone is available. The reason people die so often when summoning a demon is because they hate being dragged to this side of the ever after without warning."

Hermione nodded. It actually made more sense than it didn't.

"I usually call to see if anyone is available before summoning. If not I don't bother."

"Sounds like a smart idea," she admitted.

Chris coughed.

"Plus it doesn't hurt that I'm one of the rare people who is willing to make a demon charm for them. They hate making them."

The two spent the rest of the trip talking about charms, and ignoring the wizards.


	4. Hawk-Eyed Charlie Chapter Two

Albus Dumbledore was a man of many things, but superstitious was not one of them. When he heard rumors that Charlus Potter had returned, he had assumed they meant as a ghost of some sort.

So it was with great surprise that he came face-to-face with a very much alive Charlus Potter standing next to a goblin.

'If he's here, then where is the child people spoke of next to him?' thought Dumbledore. He had heard rumors that Charlus had brought with him.

"So. You are Albus Dumbledore," said Charlus.

Unseen by Dumbledore, there were a great many goblins who were there to see what happened next.

Charlus pulled back his left arm, and broke the man's nose.

Needless to say that memory would be a favorite of many goblins.

"I've been meaning to do that since I saw you and that woman leave that poor child on that doorstep ten years ago," said Charlus satisfactorily.

The goblin beside him chuckled darkly.

"I had heard you were dead. James had been inconsolable when news of the attack came," he said calmly, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

"I was found and enlisted with the Queen's sniper division. As it stands, if I hear you put your sticky fingers in the family vault again, I won't stop with just a broken nose," said Charlus.

"And what of the child?" asked Dumbledore.

"Safe at school. My grandson has done me proud as a fine Englishman," said Charlus.

Dumbledore would leave Gringotts feeling as if something horrible had happened to his plans for young Harry.

Not only was the boy's grandfather alive and well, but he had legal custody of the boy. To make matters worse, there was nothing he could do to legally gain custody.

* * *

"So you finally got a dog Jamie? Lucky!"

"German Shepard. Grandpa said he'd get a friend of his to help me train him how to be a dog like the ones the military uses. Once it stops weaning anyway. I should be able to get it once we return from Hawaii."

"Lucky. So what's this about you transferring schools?"

"You know those weird owls that keep showing up around the end of June? Turns out they were delivering school applications and Grandpa said I could join one. I picked one that is in Highland Scotland," said Jamie.

"Ugh...colder weather than we get here. I don't envy you one bit," said Paulie.

"Bah. At least he managed to convince them not to butt in on the yearly summer programs. They think I'm still at school," grinned Jamie.

Paulie chortled with him.

* * *

"So why are we supposed to listen to this runt?" said a brutish American boy who somehow managed to get approval for this trip. Jamie suspected his parents paid a donation to the school.

"One, because I happen to be Senior Cabin boy and I am trusted to do as told. Two, I have been through this program five times already, so by rights I am _your _senior. Now, are there any intelligent questions? Don't be shy, I don't mind answering them. If you have any trouble you can always ask me or the First Mate."

One raised their hand.

"Do we get paid?"

"We do get paid for this trip, but only if the Captain agrees to sign the check. Anyone caught lollygagging or goofing off when they are supposed to be on duty will have their pay cut or withheld until further notice. Now, since most of us are minors, we only get the bare minimum of what everyone else on the ship gets, and we won't be ranked higher than Cabin boy, who gets the lowest amount of all the others. If, however you do well enough to rank Senior cabin boy like me in a few years, then you will earn ten pounds more at the end of the month."

Another raised their hand.

"Yes, Jacob."

"What sort of jobs are we supposed to do on the ship?"

"Mostly cleaning, though laundry thankfully isn't going to be part of our duties. Those of you who know your way around engineering are permitted to join them in engine maintenance. Those of you able to cook _edible_ foods may help prepare meals, and if any of you are daring you can learn medicine from the ship's doctor. This is, after all, a training program and to allow everyone a chance to get a good feel of what life is like on the ship."

Another raised their hand, looking rather confused.

"Why aren't their any slots available for the air or land divisions?"

"The reason is that we are already learning the land divisions at school, and the air division is for those who not only have high enough grades, but have the approval of both headmaster and the quartermaster. It is a privilege to earn a chance at one of the slots, not a guarantee," said Jamie.

"How long are we going to be at sea?"

"Until we hit our destination this year, which is Hawaii. Every year the captain picks a tropical destination as the main goal for this program. Once we return however, they set sail and do their duty as part of the Queen's Navy. Consider yourselves lucky that we are in a school that even allows minors to work on a naval ship over the summer rather than do nothing all summer. Plus, once we hit Hawaii, we are more or less unsupervised...unless you manage to piss off the captain and the crew in which case you might be confined to ship instead of chaperoned to shore."

A thought occurred to him.

"Also, all forms of liquor are banned to minors, and if caught you will be stuck doing laundry duty for two weeks."

"I thought you said laundry wasn't part of our job description?" sneered the American.

"It's not, but it _is_ a punishment duty for anyone who breaks the rules or causes too much trouble. Now, you have all been assigned bunks, but please, anyone with nightmares do us all a favor and sleep on the bottom."

With that, Jamie lead them to the room that was designated for cabin boys, taking one of the bottom bunks himself. He learned from experience that as much fun as it was to have top bunk, falling off mid asleep was much less painful if you had the bottom, and he tended to toss and turn a bit.

* * *

"Johnson! What do you call this...mess?" demanded Jamie. Johnson had been getting on his nerves since day one, and he had about had it with the American.

"I call it an overflowing toilet, _sir,_" said Johnson with a sneer.

"You are on toilet duty this week, and yet I've received complaints about the cleanliness. Now either you shape up, or I will have the First Mate assign laundry for a month!"

"Like I care. You're just a jumped up brat who thinks he can order us about," sneered Johnson.

"Johnson, you have exactly _one_ hour to clean this mess up, before I call the First Mate in here."

Jamie sighed when he found Johnson ten minutes later, reading a dirty magazine in the shared room.

* * *

"Sir, one of the cabin boys is refusing to do his cleaning duty and answer to orders. Nothing I've done seems to help, and I was hoping you could have a word with him?" said Jamie.

"There's always a smart-ass in the group," sighed the First Mate.

"It's the American, sir," said Jamie.

"I had a feeling it was him. How long has this been going on?"

"About a week sir. I had hoped to resolve this without bringing it to your attention, but..."

"I'll take care of it, the only reason he was brought on was because his parents hoped a few months at sea would straighten him out."

"I'll go inspect the others while you deal with Johnson, sir."

"Good lad. I heard next year you might be cleared for the slot in the Royal Air Force."

Jamie beamed at him and headed out.

Later he heard over dinner that Johnson had been given laundry duty for the rest of the trip unless his attitude improved. Jamie paid little mind to it, aside from the fact that one of the beds was now unoccupied, since Johnson had been placed with one of the more...rigid...sailors. Apparently they had found liquor in his things.

Since it was no longer his problem, he could care less.

* * *

Johnson cornered him in one of the lesser used corridors.

"You! Thanks to you I'm stuck with that hard ass for the rest of the trip!"

"I did nothing. You were the one who refused to do your job and brought liquor on the ship. Had you done what you were told, you would still be with the other boys and allowed on shore," said Jamie calmly.

Johnson roared and tried to tackle Jamie. Jamie side-stepped him before he chopped the boy in the stomach that had him curling up in pain.

"You alright Jamie?" asked one of the sailors.

"Fine. Can we leave him in the brig until his attitude improves?"

"Depends," said Mike, grinning.

"On what?"

"On whether the Captain sends him packing for 'attacking a senior officer'," said Mike.

"Huh?"

"As senior cabin boy, you outrank the others. By attacking you, he attacked a higher ranked officer of the ship. I'd love to see how this idiot manages to get out of punishment for this," said Mike. He barely resisted the urge to kick the brat.

* * *

A few days later Jamie ran into Johnson in the brig.

Johnson glared at him, but kept his mouth shut. He was already in a great deal of trouble for attacking Jamie.

"Now, are you going to be reasonable from now on, or would you rather stay here until we return to Britain?"

Johnson glare at him deepened. Jamie sighed and left. There was little chance of him getting through to the boy anytime soon. However he kept at it for the next month, until they hit Hawaii.

Each time, Johnson said nothing, but his glare was pretty clear. He hated Jamie deeply.

Finally Mike told Jamie to just give up.

"That kid has some serious issues. I don't think someone like you would be able to get through to him right now. He just doesn't respect someone your age."

"I had hoped we could at least part on amicable terms, but if I can't get through to him..."

"I'll send Johnny to talk to him. Maybe he can get through to the kid."

* * *

Jamie stood before the others with a grin.

"Well boys, after a long,grueling month of nothing but sea and storms I am proud to announce that our destination is in sight. Gentlemen, Hawaii is off the starboard bow and the navigator has told me we should be landing within two hours. Get your things ready gents, our week of sun and fun begins soon!"

The others cheered loudly. This is what they had suffered for, an entire week of nothing but fun without any parents to complain about what they bought.

Best of all, the captain was going to give them all credit cards with their paychecks on it, already activated with the pins on the back.

They had five hundred on each card, though Jamie had six because he was the senior cabin boy. Practically every boy had swim trunks on under their pants. The older sailors chuckled at their enthusiasm.

Mike had been elected chaperone so that they didn't try to enter any bars or cause trouble. Aside from that they could do whatever they wanted to.

Once the ship was docked and put away, the boys were off the thing as fast as you could blink.

* * *

"You know it's a real pity Derrick couldn't join us. I heard he's never seen Hawaii before and he was really looking forward to this," said Brent. He was friends with the American.

"Yeah, but he shouldn't have attacked Jamie like that. It's not like the kid ever did anything to him," said Fred.

"Yeah, but I heard that in his last school, some younger kid lied and said he had bullied him, when he was the real culprit. And I heard his parents kept trying to pin the blame on him. It was either the Academy or juvie," said Brent.

Jamie, who heard that remark, paused in his game.

"Did he saw what the kid's name was or what he looked like?" he asked. The description sounded far too familiar.

"Some punk named Dudley Dursley."

Jamie face-palmed. He should have guessed that fat pig was the cause of this mess.

"Hang on a second...I need to go see Johnson...I mean Derrick."

"What do you want now brat?" growled Johnson. He was miserable because he could see Hawaii outside and wasn't allowed to go.

"I heard an interesting tale earlier about you and another idiot named Dudley. Did he happen to look like a fat pig in a wig?"

"You know that arrogant little ass wipe?!" snarled Derrick.

"I not only know that little punk, I live across the street from him. How the hell did you come across him?"

"I came across him bullying some little girl and beat the crap out of him. Next thing I knew, his parents had pressed charges on me and I had to join the Academy or get sent to juvie."

"Would it help if I said I can't stand that horse faced bint or her walrus-shaped husband? And that we have been trying to get them arrested for multiple charges, but for some reason they have never sticked?"

"What do you want?"

"How about a truce. If you can behave until the end of this trip and quit causing me trouble, I'll see about letting you out of the brig so you can at least join the others. Also, I'll give you heads up on burritos and beans day in the mess hall."

Burritos and Beans day was the one day all cabin boys feared, because whoever was stuck with toilet duty had to clean up the resulting mess.

"If I behave, do you think you can help me teach that brat a lesson once we get back?"

"You mean prank the hell out of that little shit? Definitely."

"You have a deal, Potter."

The next day Johnson was let out of the brig, and was on his best behavior. However because of the trouble he caused before, he wasn't given a card.

In the hopes of keeping the peace, Jamie shared half of his pay with the boy, and soon the two had a tentative friendship.

It wasn't perfect, and Johnson still smarted back, but the agreement to give a certain blond back in England what he was due did wonders for the truce they had.


	5. Demons Abound Chapter Two

Chris was pissed off. Why?

It had started with the asinine sorting ceremony. His grumpiness had abated more or less after the sun went down, and he finally woke up properly. The more he saw of the wizard's society, the more he disliked it.

It was full of ignorant idiots who followed the human schedule instead of normal witches. The main problem he had with even going to the school was that they had a strict six to ten schedule, whereas he had a twelve to three one. Hermione might get by because of her parents, but it was going to be a bitch waking up in the morning.

And Chris really didn't want to change his schedule to keep a daytripper pacified.

After the mix up in the sorting (where the teacher called his birth name that he had abandoned a long time ago) Chris waited patiently for his name to be called.

"Christopher Tenebrae."

He blinked. He wasn't aware that he had a last name.

Still, he went under the hat and waited.

_Interesting. We've never had a true Inderlander in our school before. Try not to destroy too much, will you?_

I make no promises if people wake me up early.

_Fair enough, please, try not to summon too many demons here. Hogwarts isn't as young as she used to be._

You're built on four different ley lines and you're worried about me summoning demons? You should be more concerned what sort of charms I brought with me than that.

_Not my problem. Give the goat a heart attack in..._

"Slytherin!"

Chris grinned. Slytherin would be perfect, because it was in the dungeons and no one would look twice if he cursed people in the halls.

He sat next to Draco, who gave him a look.

"Should we warn the head of house about your morning habits?"

"Only if you're dumb enough to wake me. I will warn you lot now, anyone stupid enough to wake me before eleven is going to be cursed. I don't give a damn what your status is, I do not wake up before then," said Chris looking at his new housemates.

They gave him a long look, not getting why he was even warning them.

* * *

Chris was awakened by another snake, who was shaking him roughly. It was a prefect from the looks of it.

He snarled, and cursed the boy with a rather nasty case of boils.

"I warned you already, no one wakes me up before noon and gets away with it unscathed," he snapped.

"You'll be late for class," said the prefect annoyed.

"I'm not a stinking daytripper. And if you try to make me one I will be very hard to deal with later," answered Chris, not bothering to shower.

He used his charm to wash the grime off, and headed down to breakfast.

"Don't bother. Breakfast has been over for five minutes," said Draco, catching him on the stairs.

"Like I give a damn. Only a fool tries to make an Inderlander into a Human," snapped Chris.

Chris asked the Bloody Baron where the kitchens were, and Draco left him to deal with McGonagall. He wasn't going to take a hit because Chris couldn't wake up in the mornings.

Halfway into the first period, McGonagall came into the kitchens unamused. Apparently she finally learned where he had been for the past half hour.

Chris was clutching the coffee cup like it was his last drink on Earth.

With the look McGonagall was giving him at the moment, there was a very good chance it _was._

"Why are you not in class Mr. Tenebrae?" she asked frostily.

He leveled a glare of his own at her.

"Do I looking like a damn daytripper? Real witches never wake up before noon."

"I don't know what you mean by daytripper, and the term witch only applies to females. Fifteen points from Slytherin."

"Whatever. I'll have Dray tell me the homework assignment. Just don't count on me agreeing to wake up before noon."

"Five points for backtalk. Now are you going to class or not?"

"Let me finish this cup," Chris growled back.

When he _finally_ got into the classroom, and learned what they were doing, he was less than amused.

"You dragged me out of bed and from the kitchens to learn how to make needles from matchsticks. Are you #$%^% serious?"

"Five points for language!" she growled.

"Like I care! What moron decided the wake up call around here?!"

Which really set the teacher off. McGonagall started to harp about how these traditions had been in place long before he was born, and he wasn't going to be changing the schedule just because he wouldn't get up in the morning. The Slytherins had been highly impressed that Chris managed to get under her skin so easily. He Gryffindors, not so much.

Draco saddled up next to him once the class was over.

"How many points did you lose for standing up to her anyway?"

"Accumulative total, fifty easy. Is it true Snape favors us? And gives points for no actual reason?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then it won't matter. I guarantee you by next time this year, I won't have to get up before noon. Otherwise I'll bring this castle down on that old codger."

"Which one?"

"The one who is clearly color blind."

"...Mind if I watch?"

"Not at all Dray, not at all!"

* * *

Their next class was Binns, which Chris used to catch up on his sleep. Perhaps he could arrange his schedule to have History for the first class?

After lunch, Chris was finally awake enough to go find Snape. The Potions teacher, while less than amused by the fact that Chris was most definitely a night owl like himself, found the fact that a Slytherin had told off McGonagall hilarious. Which was the only reason he didn't mind the loss of nearly sixty points on the first day.

He gave that many to Slytherin during a class, easily.

Though he did tell Chris to tone down the hexes he shot at the people who tried to wake him up before ten.

* * *

After that incident, Chris took the proactive approach and tried to calmly explain to his morning teachers that he was a night owl by nature, and was quite literally _unable_ to wake up before at least ten. While Flitwick and Sprout were sympathetic and agreed to his suggestion to sit in with the Puffs and Claws (who were lucky enough to have classes after ten) McGonagall was not so helpful. Even when she learned that Hermione Granger, her new favorite student, had the same problem.

So Chris tried another tactic. He had marked who was Inderlander and who wasn't in three days. He wasn't surprised to find over half the school population was either a Earth or Ley Line witch in disguise.

Most of those were in fact muggleborns. Once he outlined his idea, the rest of the Inderlanders finally stood up to the outdated system.

By the time Halloween came around, Chris had lost a total of 5,000 points from Slytherin, mostly because of McGonagall. Snape could honestly care less, because the Inderlander-Wizard line had caused him a few problems in the past.

Chris already knew Snape was an Earth witch himself. There was a reason none of his classes were before ten. Thanks to Chris, he could finally sleep in while the prefects dealt with the younger children. His temper around accidents had shown a marked improvement.

He was enjoying the feast with Hermione (who in a petty spite of revenge against Ron had decided to eat with the Slytherins) when Quirrel burst in ranting about some troll.

Most of the purebloods panicked, but the Inderlanders mostly shrugged it off. Chris had been very upset to learn that hardly any of the Inderlanders in the school had been able to keep up with their true magic. Thankfully he was able to get them up to speed.

Dumbledore came up with the idea to return to the dorms, which caused Chris to protest, loudly.

"Are you #$%^&*( serious?! There is a troll on the loose in the halls, and your bright idea is to have the entire school populace roaming the halls? And what about us Slytherins?! Our dorm is IN the dungeons for crying out loud!"

The Ravenclaws applauded his wisdom, while the Gryffindors looked shocked he had worked out something _that_ obvious.

"Five points for language!" yelled McGonagall over the uproar.

Chris grinned. McGonagall had it out for him ever since he hit her with the drunken hex one morning when she had a prefect drag him out of bed. The two of them were in an ongoing war since day one.

It didn't help that he had contempt for her class once he realized they wouldn't be doing anything worthwhile until third year. It really didn't help when, in a fit of annoyance, Chris demonstrated a ley line charm that worked better than most wand work.

Snape had found her rants hilarious, and was not so secretly enjoying her rage.

Dumbledore, when confronted by such logic, was forced to keep the children in the great hall while the teachers looked for the troll.

They left the prefects to watch the younger students.

Which turned out to be a big mistake, since ten minutes after they went to deal with the troll there was a loud banging noise on the doors.

The Terror twins went out a side door people didn't see, and came back looking pale.

"It's the troll! It's trying to get in!" said Fred.

Chris stood up, and slammed his hands on the table.

"To hell with this shit. I am not going to let this damn troll cause any more ruckus! No matter what you guys hear, don't open the door until I tell you."

Chris went out the door the twins held open, and a minute later there was a roar of rage from the troll. Everyone could feel the power through the door, but they were too terrified to open it.

Chris slammed the great hall doors open, and everyone could see the troll, quite clearly dead. The head was separated from it's body!

"I hate trolls."

"Chris...what did you just do?" asked Hermione slowly.

"Hermione, I deal with demons. I make their charms for them. Do you really think I would survive this long without having _some_ black charms for myself? Even dead Vampires don't bother me unless they want their heads ripped off."

Seeing their stares, Chris shrugged.

"Besides, the ley lines that run through this place haven't been tapped since the last wards were put up at least a hundred years ago. The charms might be a bit overpowered when I tap them."

Hermione sweatdropped.

"Chris, you are certifiably insane."

"Why thank you. At least I'm interesting!"

Dumbledore and the others came down, saw the hall doors open, and Chris out of his seat.

"You people are #$%^&* idiots. At this rate, I really don't see a reason to come back next year."

"Mr. Tenebrae, what is the meaning of this?!" said McGonagall.

"I live with Vampires and Weres. Do you really think a troll can stand against someone who deals with demons and can tap a line without a familiar?"

"Ten points from Slytherin!" snapped McGonagall.

"Whatever. Not like I care about your stupid point war anyway."

* * *

During the first Quidditch match of the season, Chris became bored with the entire thing within ten minutes of the games start. At least, until he realized that the players came far, far too close for his comfort. He set down his grimiore of ley line charms (he was picking out which ones to teach the others that week) and stood up.

That was when all hell broke loose. Anything that flew in the air started going after him like he was a magnet. Chris growled, and grabbed a potion vial he kept in his vest.

He downed it in a second, and soon took flight. He didn't even feel the pain of transformation anymore. His red tailed hawk form (which had been a total pain to make, since he had to bribe a Were who worked in the zoo for the tail feathers he needed) weaved around the bludgers and the like.

He enjoyed the look on McGonagall's face when she realized it was Chris who was avoiding the bludgers. Finally he figured out who was behind the spell, and dive bombed Quirrel. Snape had enough common sense to duck, realizing Chris would never attack him.

Quirrel didn't duck fast enough, and felt the bludgers plow into his stomach.

Chris flapped twice, then decided he had enough of this nonsense and went flying around the castle.

Later Draco told him that not only was Quirrel behind the bludgers that nearly killed him, but he apparently had Moldy Shorts in the back of his head. That little tidbit was the talk of the school for weeks.

* * *

When Christmas came, Chris was among those who went home. Hogwarts was boring, and more importantly so behind the times it pathetic. He needed internet and cheeseburgers, stat!

(He had unsuccessfully tried to convert the house elves to real food like pizza, burgers and salads. They simply couldn't figure out how to treat the beef to turn it into hamburgers. He fully planned to bring some from home in hopes to change that.)

He had already told them of his return, and knew that the vamp in charge of the church was planning a party.

Right before he got on the train, Dumbledore started towards it. Hagrid had started early on the mead, and had finally spilled the fact that the so called Boy-who-lived had changed his name.

The fact that Chris still visited him, despite being a Slytherin, didn't actually bother him. Chris was one of the nicest Slytherins in the castle. Chris even demonstrated how to stir up a charm, which Hagrid didn't understand until Chris had him join his unofficial Earth Witch class.

Hagrid, due to his unique nature as half giant, was an Earth Witch. Chris was one of the few people in the school who could teach others how to stir up their own charms or tap a line without killing yourself.

He was also the only person in the school who had thought to buy the ingredients needed in bulk. Snape had sat in on a few of those lessons, and had to admit Chris was a hell of a teacher.

Even though McGonagall was still spitting nails over the fact that Chris could not only turn into an animal without years of study (and no registering with the Ministry because it was only temporary) but that he could transform into any animal he wanted provided he had a piece of the animal in question.

She had sat through that class, and had been rather annoyed to learn that because of her status as animagus, she was unable to change her species. However, that didn't mean that should she get fur from a larger cat, she could use it in an Earth charm.

Dumbledore had unsuccessfully tried to get the classes stopped, but since the classes were more of a study group for those with unusual magic, there was nothing he could legally do.

Dumbledore was going to try and get Chris to look up to him. He had no idea that Chris had his opinion of the man already set. He would never listen to Dumbledore unless someone forced him to.

Someone who was stupid enough to allow children in the halls with a mindless killing machine on the loose clearly needed to have his head examined.

Chris was grinning. He was finally home, and the first thing he asked for was a burger and fries. Since there weren't any human children in the church, he was able to drown his fries in ketchup.

Since Hogwarts was so out of date with the times, Chris had been able to eat tomatoes with every meal. Hermione had been delighted to find that because of the outdated system, tomatoes had never been banned even during the Turn.

If there was one thing they weren't going to change, it was the tomatoes. Humans wouldn't touch them since they were the main reason that Inderlanders came out of the darkness. Even though the virus that caused the devastation was extinct permanently, humans wouldn't go near tomatoes out of principle.

Finding anything with tomatoes in it inside a human friendly restaurant was almost impossible. (Read: _extremely_ impossible outside of an Inderlander only restaurant. Asking for ketchup for your fries was liable to get you kicked out and banned.)

Draco had been rather shocked when he learned how much Chris loved tomatoes. He had commented on it, and clearly didn't know why Chris only had them for special occasions. Even when Hermione, who was the only other first year Ley Line witch in the school, explained about the virus that nearly wiped out the humans he still didn't get it.

Chris chalked it up to culture differences, and left it at that.


	6. Hawk-Eyed Charlie Chapter Three

The Captain stood before the cabin boys, and looked at Jamie proudly for getting the one who had been sent to the brig back to standards.

"Now boys, I am proud to say that as of this moment, we are within sight of England. I am particularly pleased that Mr. Johnson has managed to behave long enough to join us outside the brig, his earlier behavior completely unacceptable. I would like to thank Mr. Potter for helping Mr. Johnson to rethink his earlier actions."

"It helped, sir, that I knew the perpetrator of his initial offense that forced him to join the Academy."

"Quite. Gentlemen, as per our regulations, you will help run up the British flag now that we are within sight of home. Once we have docked, you will pick up the cabin and join your families who are eagerly awaiting your arrival."

It took them little time to raise the flag, with Jamie's careful instructions.

Once they were within sight of land, the cabin boys cheered.

* * *

Jamie greeted his grandfather with a hug.

"Good to see you again boy. And who's this?"

"This is Derrick Johnson, an American. Apparently Dudley is up to his old tricks again. He framed Derrick for one of his stunts."

"Sounds like that braggart. I don't know why the coppers haven't arrested and thrown him into juvie yet."

"It's too bad that punk isn't in the military, otherwise we could throw him in the brig," said Derrick.

"He got thrown out," said Jamie sourly.

"By the way Jamie, the woman sent a letter saying that the puppy is ready for you to take home."

"I just had a thought... doesn't Petunia hate animals?"

"She's an OCD nutjob," Charlie confirmed.

"Then what if we got Dudley some animal and convinced him it was the newest fad among our age group? Either he shapes up and quits hurting people or we make their lives hell."

"What would you suggest?" asked Derrick, liking the sound of that idea.

"Labradors. They have a ton of energy and their tails can wreak havoc."

"You mean like in that book _Marley and Me_?" asked Derrick.

"Exactly!"

Derrick grinned evilly.

* * *

Petunia's life had become hell...ever since Dudley had gotten it in his head that dogs were currently the most 'hip' thing, he had demanded one. Finally Vernon went out and got him a Labrador puppy that had become the bane of her clean existence.

The thing was loud, messy and was completely uncontrollable. It chewed everything in the house, it refused their commands, and it barked all night long.

Dudley never took into account his mother loathed animals, Vernon had no patience to speak of, and he was gone most of the year. Which left her holding the plastic bag and scrub brush as she had to clean after the damn thing.

It didn't help that the boy across the street had just gotten a German Shepard puppy and within a week it was perfectly behaved. Sure, there were a few accidents, but otherwise it was a good dog.

She hated the brat for getting the idea of a dog into her son's head with every fiber of her being.

* * *

Derrick watched the Dursley family and their new personal hell with glee. It served them right for being horrible parents.

"So how long are you going to make them suffer?" he asked Charlie.

"I'm going to make them stick with the dog until Christmas, by which time I'll call Animal Control to pick it up, if they don't get rid of it first."

"Where's Jamie?"

"He and Scruffy went to their new school already. The only reason he wasn't there earlier was because he had already signed up for the trip."

"It was good meeting you, sir," said Derrick.

"Tell you what, I'll write you a letter of recommendation so if you ever want to join the military you can have a slightly easier time."

Derrick saluted the man with a grin.

* * *

"Welcome to Hogwarts Mr. Potter. I can assume you are here to join us?" said Dumbledore.

"Sorry it took me so long. Had to fill out transfer papers for my last school."

"Excellent! Now we need to sort you and you can start catching up tomorrow. Fortunately we haven't gotten into any in-depth work since it has been only a week," said Dumbledore.

He handed the boy the hat, which Jamie put on. Fortunately his new dog Scruffy was still sleeping off a good steak in the expanded trunk.

_**Hmm...not a bad mind, loyal and brave...and extremely cunning. Why you would fit into any house really. However, what stands in the forefront is your pride in your grandfather. There is only one choice I can go with that dedication...**_

"Hufflepuff!"

Dumbledore hid his disappointment...at least he didn't go to Slytherin.

"Excellent! I shall call Professor Sprout in so she can introduce you to your new housemates."

"Welcome to Hufflepuff Mr. Potter! I hope you feel right at home!" said Sprout. Inside she was cheering. Now she could rub this in McGonagall's face!

Jamie grinned. He already liked the place, because it was the house of the loyal and hardworking, two things he excelled at. He enjoyed Academy life, which wasn't easy for some, and he was a steadfast friend to those who earned it.

Once he entered, he waited for Sprout to introduce him before he grinned.

"Yo," he said, giving a two fingered salute.

The response was immediate.

"WE GOT POTTER!"

"Now Jamie, I'm sure your dorm mates can help you catch up. Fortunately you only missed two weeks of school," said Sprout.

"Uh, just a warning, but I might miss two weeks again next year. My last school had this training program and they allow former students to join up so long as they kept up their studies abroad," said Jamie hesitantly.

"Well that shouldn't be much of a problem, so long as you follow the rules and catch up every year."

"Yes ma'am," said Jamie.

Right after she left, someone heard barking.

"Does anyone else hear a dog?"

"Crap! Scruffy must have woken up!"

"Scruffy?" said one of the older students.

"My new German Shepard. Grandpa's in no condition to handle a puppy, let alone train him, so I brought him with me."

"You do realize that dogs aren't allowed in school right?" asked the prefect.

"Yeah, but last I checked the groundskeeper has one. And I'm sure I'm not the only one with an unusual pet in this school."

"Good point. So long as you keep it under control and potty train it, I don't see there being a problem," admitted the prefect.

Percy originally had a rat, and word had it that the youngest brother had it now. And rats weren't on the list of approved pets.

"Besides, it would be nice to see something other than a cat, toad or owl in the house."

* * *

Jamie initial thought about Hogwarts was that it was far too childish for his tastes. The children were very out of shape, the food was fatty, almost unhealthily so, and there were no extracurricular.

Thankfully he had to run with his new puppy Scruffy around the grounds for exercise each day.

The first to take notice of the dog was one of the adults..

"What is that thing doing in this school?!" shrieked Filch.

"I have the approval of my head of house, and so long as I train him and clean up his mess, no one has a problem with him being here. He won't be your problem to deal with, sir," said Jamie politely.

"Keep him away from Mrs. Norris!" said Filch. He wasn't used to one of the students showing him actual respect.

"I shall be sure to train him not to attack cats, sir," said Jamie.

"See that you do," said Filch. He was so unsettled by the encounter that he didn't harass Jamie again on his runs.

* * *

With Filch's unofficial approval of the dog, there was little the other houses could do. The fact was that Jamie was actually training him in his spare time, and kept him in his trunk during classes (he had quickly potty trained his new dog so it would hold until he got there) so the puppy wouldn't make a mess of the dorm room.

The next person to have a run in with Jamie and Scruffy was none other than the groundskeeper, Hagrid.

He was more interested in how Jamie trained the dog rather than it's presence in the school. Apparently Fang had a habit of jumping on people. The two soon shared a common bond as Jamie helped Hagrid train the boarhound in basic commands.

In scholastic work, Jamie was in the top ten. Even with his late start. There was only one real hitch in that.

The potions professor hated his birth father.

"Ah yes, Mr. Potter...our new celebrity."

"Sir, if I may, I greatly disagree with what the books claim about me and I wouldn't know how to handle fame. My entire schooling has been in military academies, so any ego from an act I had no part in would have been beaten out of me pretty quickly."

"You think you know everything, don't you Potter," spat Snape.

Jamie didn't start, as most of his acquaintances did around him, but rather stared right back at Snape calmly. Even Granger, the bookworm, jumped when he hissed.

"Sir, I do not understand your grudge against me, as this is the first time we have ever met. And to be honest, the drill sergeant back at my old school would put you to shame when it comes to making people scared. I am only in here to learn potions, not start an intellectual debate."

Snape glared at him a little longer, but eventually he conceded defeat. This wasn't James Potter's son, but Charlus Potter's grandson. He heard rumors on his yearly potions run that the man had survived, but he hadn't believed them.

After seeing the boy's memories, however, he realized that any attempts to antagonize him would only end badly...for him. Charlus had never condoned bullying.

* * *

_Meanwhile, outside Hogwarts..._

Charlie had it with the pitying looks he kept getting from these wizards, so he went to this St. Mungo's place to see if he could get something to jog his memory.

Because of the unique state of his injury, he was sent to the long-term ward where the healers found a potion that should help.

It was there that he found a familiar pair of faces.

Captain Frank Longbottom and Private First class Alice Longbottom. The best navigator and nurse he had the pleasure of knowing.

Charlie looked at the nurse (Healer) and asked "What they in for?"

"Long-term Crucio exposure. So far nothing done has been any help whatsoever."

"Crucio? What the hell is that?"

The Healer looked at him flatly.

"Crucio is the most painful torturing curse around, and it's labeled as one of the Unforgiveables for a reason."

Charlie took a long look at the two, and for some reason the look in their eyes reminded him of something. It wasn't until a few days later at one of his VA meetings that he realized what.

Frank and Alice had a magical form of PTSD. A pretty bad case if they haven't come out of it.

"Hey, you guys remember Ol' Frank Longbottom?" said Charlie.

"Frank? I remember him. Good kid."

"What happened?" asked George. He had been under the command of the kid, even though he was older than him.

"I ran into him at St. Mungo's. According to the nurses, Frank and Alice were tortured for hours. From what I can tell they both have a pretty bad case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and keep reliving the event."

That got their attention.

"What did you have in mind Charlie? You wouldn't bring this up unless you have a plan," said Hughes.

"I think we should kidnap them and bring them among friends. Being in that hospital isn't doing them any good, but maybe being given a reminder of life before the incident might bring them back."

"It's so crazy it just might work! Hell, it helped Danny boy when he came back from 'Nam when his own kids wanted to ship him off to a nursing home!" said old Harry, slamming his drink down.

"So gents, what do you say to a little kidnapping?" said Charlie, a glint in his eye.

"Aye!"

* * *

Neville was about to start eating his breakfast when he caught the headline of the _Prophet _that morning.

_**BREAK-IN AT ST. MUNGO'S. TWO PATIENTS MISSING!**_

_**In an astounding series of events, earlier this morning Healer Pynes confirmed that two patients of the Long-Term Spell Damage ward were missing from their beds. Three hours of searching revealed that neither of the two patients, a Frank and Alice Longbottom, were in the hospital. The Longbottoms, as many can recall, were the last victims of the Lestrange trio. The two were tortured for five hours via the Cruiciatus curse until Aurors arrived to arrest the Lestranges.**_

_**The Auror department has sworn to find the Longbottoms and return them safely to their family, and to give the harshest punishment possible if they were taken by force.**_

Jamie took one look at the name, and his head fell to the table with a thud.

He remembered his grandfather telling him about Frank Longbottom, and had a pretty good idea of what had happened. A quick letter to Charlie revealed what he had already suspected.

The VA had taken the Longbottoms. Why, he had no idea but he planned to find out for Neville's sake.

It had been two months since he started school, and Jamie could honestly say...he disliked it.

The children were too noisy, the classes were a joke, and the prejudice... In short he really didn't want to come back.

However his grandfather sweetened the deal by informing him of the base that he had 'purchased' that was a decommissioned Royal Air Force strip that had seen better days.

Part of the rehabilitation that Charlie had in mind was good old fashioned hard work putting it back into use. Some of the hangers were refitting so that those suffering flashbacks of wars (like Vietnam for instance) could get the old urges out of them by attacking and 'killing' dolls that had been made to act much like a human body would.

In this case it was filled with ballistics gel and some blood packs.

The one in the flashback could stalk and 'kill' the fake humans and in doing so hopefully bring him to the present slowly.

And, in an effort to spend more time with Jamie, Charlie had convinced the Academy to send some cadets over to help out. Including those hoping to get a slot working with the Royal Air Force during the summer.

From what Charlie said, it seemed to be working. Frank and Alice had already started to show improvement by simply recognizing where they were. They even remembered faces now.

Too bad Jamie couldn't tell Neville the good news for fear that his grandmother would come after Charlie.


	7. Digital Wizard Chapter One

It was the lasted craze among their age group. The new _**Digimon**_ game was selling like hotcakes since you could now have two different characters allowing households with more than one child to share the same game.

The end result was that parents bought just the one game so that their children would shut up. Of course there was the fact they would have to buy replacements if the disc was ever scratched.

It was to this end that Petunia bought her son two copies of the game so he would quit whining for a copy. Apparently all of his 'friends' were playing and he wasn't. Because there was nothing in the game that involved the dreaded 'M' word, only leveling up and completing quests to evolve the animals, it was allowed in the house.

At first things were fine...until Dudley made a mistake in the character creation resulting in the first account being female. Naturally he whined about it until his rather freakish cousin made him a deal.

In exchange for letting Harry play as well (he would willingly take the girl account), the boy would get his team up to the highest level he could and allow Dudley to take all the credit. Normally Vernon wouldn't allow it, but thanks to Harry's careful manipulation, he left the boy alone.

Besides, Dudley was very pleased when his 'friends' started complaining at how he 'beat' them every time in the arenas. Or how he had all the best Digimon on his team.

A few months later Dudley grew bored with the game, but Harry was still allowed to play it so long as he didn't perform any freakishness in the house and did the chores without complaint.

Apparently Vernon was so pleased that the brat was acting 'normal' for once (and he had something to legitimately' complain about) that he even gave the boy the second bedroom with it's own internet connect so he wouldn't contaminate Dudley's room anymore. In exchange Harry acted like a delinquent in front of the neighbors, got even worse grades and in general acted like a spoiled brat in public.

It was an arrangement that worked for both parties, seeing as how it made Harry's life much easier.

Everything seemed to settle down, until...

* * *

Harry blearily woke up to the blinking screen of his monitor, which he made a point to turn off each night along with the computer itself. He didn't want to ruin his agreement with his uncle after all.

(Who knew that the trick to getting Vernon to leave him alone was to draw attention away from Dudley's misdeeds?)

Getting up to turn the monitor off, again, he didn't see the odd device forming until after it clattered to the floor. Luckily his uncle was still sound asleep and Dudley was having a sleepover with Piers.

He never discovered the device until he went up to check his team the next evening.

"What on earth?"

It was awkwardly shaped, had red, blue, green and yellow coloring, a series of buttons, and a hook to loop a string through it like a necklace. (It was mostly blue, and the other colors were on the buttons or the frame around the screen, which was red.)

Pressing the buttons revealed that it had quite a few options available, but there were a few things still locked. Putting it in his pocket (the clothes were second hand, but part of the deal with Vernon meant he got a minimum of food and clothes that actually fit, even if they were cheap) he went downstairs to fix dinner for the family.

Once he was done with the dishes, he went back up and got back onto the _Digimon_ server and began to play. It wasn't until he felt an odd vibration against his leg that he finally remembered the device.

The moment the screen was exposed to the open air and in view of the monitor, something odd happened. The monitor screen light up like a fireworks show.

Long experience with his uncle had kept the fact that his screen was on long past the acceptable hour a year ago. He learned from his mistakes and had the door fitted with a little slip that wouldn't attract attention by his aunt, but also kept the light from being seen from the other side of the door.

One minute he was there, the next, he was gone.

* * *

"_Look! He's waking up!"_ said a voice. It was masculine and sounded fairly young.

"_Remember what she told us, take it a step at a time or we'll frighten him!" _said another. This one was female, and sounded a bit older than the first.

"_Can we really leave this place Rena?" _asked a childish voice, he couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl.

"_If he lets us,"_ said the second voice.

He opened his eyes to reveal...his entire Digimon team, at least the main ones anyway.

Renamon, Gabumon and a Guilmon that he had gotten from a rather cheap expansion pack that Vernon was all to happy to pay for since Harry stayed out of their way unless they needed him.

Being allowed to play on the computer and out of sight in exchange for being a cover for Dudley was something he didn't mind in the least. It was a good thing he didn't plan on staying in Surrey past eighteen, or things could get very awkward indeed.

It took him exactly ten seconds to put things together, which was why the first three questions were:

"Is this a dream or a hallucination?"

"No," said Renamon.

"Was the odd electronic device similar to the one in the game?"

"Yes," said Guilmon, pleased he wasn't freaking out.

"Will I be able to go between here and my room without any of my family the wiser?"

"If you find the access point, then yes. At least until you turn eleven, by which time you may want to purchase a special laptop. Fortunately one of the other teams told us who sells them and where the store is located," said Gabumon.

"Right. So what do we do first?" said Harry eagerly. If this wasn't a dream and he was given a _real_ Digivice, no way was he going to turn this down!

"First we hit the town so you can get properly fitted. Unfortunately, first timers come in their actual clothes, so you need to find something to wear around here, otherwise you'll be stuck walking around in...that," said Renamon distastefully.

"Lead on!" said Harry cheerfully.

His life may have improved since he made that arrangement with Vernon and Petunia, but that didn't mean he liked it. Being able to explore the Digital World with his team first hand beat worrying whether or not his uncle would cut the internet off.

(He had done it twice, and that was enough for Harry to fear it. The game was the only thing that gave him good memories.)

Five hours later, Harry was tired but very happy.

To the pleasure of Renamon (the only female on his team, from the female avatar which was only kept around for trading purposes) Harry had used his bits (the currency of the game) to buy an entirely new wardrobe. Well, almost. It turned out that those lucky enough to be gifted with a Digivice also got to use their avatar's clothes. (And thanks to the fact Vernon didn't mind bribing him to stay out of their sights by letting him use a prepaid card once a month for some nice extras, he had a lot of good gear.)

"A pity I can't take the clothes with me," said Harry, looking at his awesome new outfit.

"Actually, there is a portal that lets you take your outfit with you, but we have to beat the gate guardian first," said Gabumon.

"Really?" said Harry, looking speculative. His team kicked ass with it was only NPC monsters. He couldn't wait to fight with his team for real.

"First things first, we need supplies," said Renamon firmly.

Harry tilted his head.

"I thought my bag was full of supplies?"

"Your avatar maybe, but now that you're here for real you need to restock. About the only real difference now that you can come here is that your avatar will actually _look_ like you when you can't join us and we'll be able to talk to you through your Digivice. Coincidentally, thanks to the fact you have a newer Digivice you can take us with you outside the game. Just don't materialize us in public," said Renamon.

"Really?" said Harry. Finally, some friends he could talk to! An idea occurred to him, one that meant he could talk to his friends without Vernon taking his Digivice away when he finally found it. And he would, Harry had no doubt.

"Yes. The creators of the game don't want the fact that children such as yourself are able to make it here, so they made a rule that Digimon can't be brought out in public without being around those in the know," said Renamon.

"Sounds reasonable. By the way...would you guys happen to have the real locations of others who got a Digivice?" asked Harry hopefully.

"At least three, why?" asked Gabumon.

"I'll need to use them as examples once I put my plan into motion. By that time Vernon won't think to ask why I'm talking to a toy," said Harry.

"Why do you have to hide your real intelligence Harry?" asked Guilmon.

"For some reason my family hates me and they have some unreasonable fear about me or my parents. In exchange for covering for my thuggish cousin Dudley, they let me stay in the second bedroom and play games all night. Once I turn eighteen I'm leaving without looking back," said Harry flatly.

The fact he had ten more years to go until that glorious day had nothing to do with it.

"Anything else they fear?" asked Renamon, barely resisting the urge to growl.

"They've banned anything that is magical or even has the word 'magic' in it from the house. Dudley once tried to watch that Disney movie with the young King Arthur and Merlin, and my aunt nearly had a heart attack. Not to mention the time she found out he saw that movie with Mickey Mouse wearing a wizard's robe and getting the mops to move on their own."

That had been a fun month, since Dudley had been grounded for a week and Harry stayed in his room until his cousin was allowed to go back to his usual routine of bullying.

Best week ever! He leveled up his team nearly three times as fast!

Once he found the access point, Harry left the Digital World and went straight to bed.

He had to plan this carefully to avoid his Uncle throwing a fit.

* * *

Vernon saw the box with his nephew's name on it.

"BOY GET DOWN HERE!"

"Yes Uncle Vernon?" he said respectfully. It had been a real pain to arrange his Digivice to be sent to his house with a fake return address. He had to pay the postal manager ten pounds to insure he got the thing back if Vernon tried to send it away.

"What is this?" growled Vernon.

"I entered a free contest on the game. Winners got a recreation of the devices used to control the monsters...something about digital impulses or something. I got an e-mail saying I had won one of them," Harry lied with ease.

Vernon opened the box, saw nothing other than a fancy pager in a lot of colors and gave it to the boy.

"You can keep it, but remember our deal boy. You keep Dudley out of Juvie or else," said Vernon.

"Yes sir," said Harry.

Now he could wear it in public without Vernon causing a fuss.

* * *

_Harry, age eleven_

It had been a great three years, but like all good things, it had to come to an end.

In this case, the end came in the form of a letter.

Harry took one look at it and swore.

"Uncle Vernon, some crackpots are sending me fake letters!"

Vernon was right behind his nephew in cursing, because he had dreaded this day.

"Boy, what do you say to this nonsense?"

"I'm not giving up that second bedroom or my internet access without a fight," said Harry promptly. Internet was the only place he was free to be himself!

Vernon looked pleased by that admission.

"Good lad. So what do we say to these...lunatics?"

"Thanks but no thanks?" suggested Harry.

The nutjobs, whoever they were, were persistent. He was almost tempted to jump into the Digital World, but his team warned him that it was against the Admin's rules to do so when it was the near the end of August.

Fortunately his team decided to join him instead. He easily covered their conversations by telling his uncle that the 'toy' had a feature that let him talk to the Digimon on the game. That was all it took for Vernon to drop it. So long as the brat was more interested in those games and not magic, then all was good in the world according to Vernon.

At least right up until they sent someone to find out why _the_ Harry Potter wasn't the least bit interested in learning magic.

Severus Snape was not happy to be the one stuck dragging the Potter brat to the school. He was even less happy to be dismissed by the brat playing some muggle toy.

"Who are you?"

"My name, you insufferable brat, is Severus Snape. I am here to see why you haven't been responding to the letters," he growled.

"Rude much? Uncle Vernon, it's one of those nutjobs who kept sending the owls!" he shouted.

"Dammit, we already said no!"

"Like it matters to me what you said. All you need to know is that the boy is going," snarled Snape. His day just kept getting worse.

* * *

It took him an hour and a near hexing, but he finally liberated the brat from the house. Before they called the Knight Bus, Harry spoke up.

"Sorry about all the rudeness earlier sir, but I had to keep up the act that I didn't care about magic to keep that fat oaf happy."

"What?" said Snape dumbfounded.

"In exchange for taking the blame for my cousin's bullying and crimes, they don't force me to sleep in the cupboard under the stair and actually feed me. Plus Vernon pays me to keep up the act and stay out of their sight until needed. It's an arrangement I have with them since neither of us wants to be stuck with the other."

"And that toy earlier?"

"That was my incentive to keep pretending to be the scapegoat for Dudley. I get to act like a normal kid at home, but outside I have to act like the delinquent they paint me as. It's only for another couple of years, and then I can finally ditch this hellhole and live my own life in another country."

"More like seven," said Snape. Now that the brat was actually behaving and showed some Slytherin traits, he was actually bearable.

That, and the agreement also brought memories of his own father, Tobias Snape. He had not been too pleased with a magical child either.

"Hmm?"

"Wizards are considered adults when they reach seventeen in our world," said Snape.

"Sweet. Only six more years and I can say good bye to this prison. Not like Vernon would bother to report me missing in any event. Is there someplace I can stay for a while, since I don't want him to use this event as a reason to break our agreement?"

"You can stay at the Leaky Cauldron for all I care," said Snape flatly.


	8. Fate Breaker Chapter One

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He had just finished his fourth year at Hogwarts (seen a classmate die as well) and his family had forced him to go with them on a business trip. For some reason this...Clock Tower...wanted to meet Vernon in a random city in Japan, even though from what Harry understood they were based in England.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem (a quick letter with his magical signature to the goblins solved the few problems he might encounter...like lack of passport or vaccinations...he still hated port keys with a passion though) but as soon as he stepped foot in Fuyuki city he knew there would be trouble.

It wasn't until the middle of the night when he was tired of being kicked by his fat cousin over the double beds that should have easily fit two people (Dudley had immediately claimed both and pushed them together without even thinking twice about his cousin) Harry went out to get some fresh air.

Because of how magically charged the city was, he doubted that any magic would get picked up by the Japanese Ministry if he cast even a lumos. And since he was so far out, it was highly unlikely Dumbledore even had any spies to watch over him like a hawk. The only companion he had was Hedwig, who had barely managed to find him.

He left the hotel room, left a note pinned firmly on the door for his stupid cousin and went out to explore the city.

There wasn't a chance he was going to pass up exploring a new city without having to worry about being the boy-who-lived for a couple of hours.

* * *

In hindsight, he really should have known better. His luck absolutely hated him with a passion.

Never before had Harry ever relied on his years of running from Dudley or his Seeker skills to avoid attack. At least, not in this fashion anyway.

The man in blue armor with the lance apparently wasn't supposed to let anyone see him, so he was pursuing Harry with a vengeance. Fortunately, he didn't seem to like the idea of killing Hedwig, who kept attacking him to protect Harry.

When he heard the man's accent, he couldn't help but ask if he was Irish. The guy had laughed, saying he was. Apparently he didn't want to do this, but had to on his Master's orders.

The fact he had picked Harry of all people was just his luck.

Fortunately, it seemed that since he was in a situation where magic was almost expected, he was able to cast shield charms left and right. While he knew the Unforgiveables he just didn't want to kill or otherwise take out the man before him in such a fashion. Something told him if they had met under different circumstances they could have gotten along famously.

Suddenly he crashed into a shed. He hadn't even noticed they had left the edges of the city!

The door fell in...and both fighters paused when they realized what was in there. A woman with bright red hair and earrings almost identical to the man before him was lying in a pool of blood, her left arm severed almost completely.

Harry didn't think twice. Instead of focusing on the man with the lance, he immediately went to her side and started casting serious healing spells. The arm was almost a lost cause...had the spear-man not come to help.

From what Harry could tell he knew the woman and was beyond pissed off at her condition. Between the two of them, the woman would be weak for a while, but she would live.

Hedwig let off a rather strange cry and struck behind the spear-man. A bizarre chain broke off...and a smaller thread became known.

"I don't believe it...that crazy bird of yours severed the connection to that creep!" he said in shock.

"Hedwig, you aren't going to suddenly become a phoenix or anything are you?" asked Harry suspiciously.

Hedwig hooted imperiously from her current perch on a chair that was falling apart.

Harry turned to the spear-man.

"You still going to kill me?"

"Hell no! You're the only thing keeping Bazett alive!"

"Is that her name?"

"She was supposed to be my Master, but someone betrayed her from behind and took control of me before she could stop him. You see the result before you."

Harry blinked.

"Finally, someone with luck as crappy as my own!"

* * *

Bazett was very shocked to find herself alive...and that Lancer was right next to her. Even more so when her arm almost felt healed. The boy before her with an owl familiar looked relieved.

"Oh good... I must admit I'm glad those spells stuck. I'm more used to being on the receiving end of them."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Harry. Harry Potter, and this is my owl Hedwig."

"What sort of magus are you?"

"Magus?"

"I don't think he's a Magus. Normal Magi don't bother with sticks anymore," said Lancer.

"I'm a wizard, if that's what your asking," he said dryly.

Bazett normally would grimace at the word wizard...but considering one just saved her life and possibly freed Lancer, she wasn't about to complain.

"Can you move?" he asked.

"A little. Aren't you a little young to be traveling on your own?"

"I would rather be here with a guy who just tried to kill me in cold blood than back in that damn hotel," said Harry flatly, with absolute certainty.

She gave Lancer a look, but he wasn't about to explain.

"If you can move, we should really get you to a hospital."

"I don't think..."

"Those spells that keep your shoulder together won't last forever. At the very least you'll need surgery to reattach the arm properly."

She grimaced.

"I can't exactly afford something that expensive. I had to pay my way just to get here..."

"If it's the expense that's the problem, then you are going. I can pay if you can't afford it. Not like I have anything better to do with the cash my father left me. Besides, escorting you to a hospital sounds a damn sight better than going back to the hotel."

"And how are you planning to get her there? The nearest hospital is five miles away, and no offense but I doubt you could carry her there."

"Who said I was going to carry her? If she can hold on long enough, I can fly her there on my broom and make it look like I carried her. Not like the ER doctors are going to look too closely at the fact I could when she's near death door," said Harry sensibly.

"And what about me? I don't exactly fit in, in case you haven't noticed. And I am not leaving her behind again!"

Harry rolled his eyes, and brought out a silvery cloak. He put it around his neck and once he placed the hood on his head he vanished.

"Any other stupid questions?"

* * *

Bazett was flown straight to the hospital, where Harry claimed her as an older sister. Fortunately the doctors didn't question it, preferring to use their time constructively. Seven hours later, she was awake again and feeling a damn sight better than before.

Her arm felt like it normally did...though she had been banned from any heavy lifting for the next three months. They didn't want to strain the muscles, which they had barely salvaged. To her relief, the magic circuits were active again...as was the connection to Lancer.

Said Servant was in the room, under the cloak. Harry was on the chair by the window, with his owl flying out to hunt.

"I have to ask...why did you save me? Most people would run away from the sight of so much blood."

Harry laughed tiredly.

"Tell that to someone who has seen far too much of their own...all because their family hates magic. Anyway I would much rather be here than back there...and it was the right thing to do."

Bazett stared. It was the first time in a long time she had seen such a selfless act of kindness, all because 'it was the right thing to do'. She lay back in the bed and decided that perhaps she could trust this Harry.

At least he wouldn't have his memories wiped. Magi were exempt from the memory wipes of seeing actual magic.

* * *

Vernon was not happy. His morning had started out rather well, with the fact that his 'nephew' had opted to leave the hotel and had yet to return. As far as he was concerned, the brat could buy his own way back to England!

Then he found out the _real_ reason Clock Tower had given them an all expenses paid trip to Japan.

They wanted the very brat who had left the hotel while decent folks were asleep! Without Harry, the man from the prestigious organization wanted nothing to do with his family.

As a result, they were forced to pack their bags and leave. The hotel concierge had been rather chipper to inform the family that the room was no longer paid for, and if they wanted to stay they would have to pay for it themselves.

Vernon and his family packed their bags and left Japan, not caring if Harry made it back on his own or not.

* * *

Harry woke up to Lancer shaking him.

"What time is it?" he yawned.

"A little after six. We need to leave. I can sense someone with a Servant closing in, and Bazett still needs to rest."

"And you need someone to play the role of your master."

Lancer grimaced, but didn't deny it. What he didn't count on was Bazett being awake.

"I can transfer my commands to you for a while. Since I can't keep Lancer stabilized like I am now, I can share the responsibility with you," she said.

"How does that work?"

"Essentially you'll be supporting him like I do, kinda like a magical battery."

"Huh. Why not?" said Harry.

Lancer keep close eye on the Servant. They were close, but not close enough to tell why he was there. Once the command mantra was given to Harry, he could feel the change. The kid only had one command on him, but the sheer amount of power in his magic circuits made up for it. Bazett kept the other two just in case. Luckily they were covered by the bandages.

Harry left the window open so Hedwig could cover for them. She was as good as a guard dog that way.

Lancer and Harry left the hospital room before the Servant could find Bazett.

With the potions he left her, it would take at least a week for her to heal properly. Her arm would still be in a cast though.

Harry and Lancer seemed to match strides rather well. Harry had the most endurance of his entire team, despite being the youngest member. It was rather simple really.

He enjoyed exploring the castle whenever he could, and he liked to run for the simple pleasure of running. All the others relied on their skills on a broom instead of their actual muscles. He had always been the fastest on a broom, and with his Seeker skills he was the most agile on the ground.

It was simply a logical step for him to take up free running and parkour in his spare time.

"You're not bad, for a runt. I noticed it the first time, but you're a natural sprinter aren't you?" asked Lancer.

"Spent most of my childhood running from my cousin. His favorite game was Harry Hunting, and running was my only option to avoid getting my ass kicked like a cheap drum."

"Hold up, why would you cousin beat you up? Don't parents normally try to avoid behavior like that?"

Harry snorted, holding his Firebolt for balance as they cleared another building. It was an interesting use for his broom's magic, one he learned quite by accident when he tried to clear the staircase while it moved with it in hand. Simply putting his foot on the wood allowed him to clear it with only one hand on the railing.

Needless to say he practiced that whenever he had the chance.

"You're talking to someone who never got the 'all human life is precious' speech. If we come up against the bastard who tried to screw you and Bazett over, don't expect me to hold you back from killing him painfully."

Lancer's grin spoke volumes. It was positively predatory...and frankly it reminded him far too much of the twins when they were planning a revenge prank for his taste.

It turned out the Servant that Lancer had sensed was the one that belonged to the man who had betrayed his true master.

"YOU!" growled Lancer.

"Hoho! This explains a few things. Though how you got a new master and broke the command spell he had I have no idea. We'll just have to drag it out of ya, won't we?" said the blond.

"Who the hell is this?"

"This is the Servant to the bastard who controlled me until that owl of yours broke it!"

"Well, you know what that means don't you? I see no reason for you to hold back."

Lancer grinned fiercely. He held his lance in his hand, eager to kill the blond bastard.

The blond Servant smirked, and summoned his weapons. Harry blinked, but otherwise didn't react. His right hand itched, not from the command spells, but from the sensation that he lacked a sword.

One he had only used once in his life...the Sword of Gryffindor.

The clash of Gae Bolg and the blond Servant's innumerable swords was heard in the silent night. Lancer was surprised at how much magic Harry had in him, because he kept getting some really nasty blows that healed in an instant.

Suddenly the blond dealt a particularly nasty blow to Lancer, and Harry could feel the drain trying to heal it. He had enough of standing on the side lines.

While he observed the blond, he noted that the man attacked with his left hand and blocked with his right. Too bad he didn't have a sword...or did he?

That itch had only grown stronger the longer he watched the blond fight. In fact it was less of an itch and more of a tug. On a whim, Harry tugged back with his magic.

The result was instant. Where his hands had been empty there was now a familiar gaudy looking sword, strengthened by the venom of the basilisk he had slain. He looked at the sword in his hands. While it was a familiar feel in his hand, the thing was too unwieldy to be of any real use. Out of boredom and curiosity he had practiced with some swords in a room that was full of the things.

The only one that suited his lithe frame was a Japanese sword, which upon further research he learned was called a uchigatana. It was longer than the tachi, and quite a bit longer than the standard katana.

Suddenly the weight shifted in his hands. The sword, which had been beyond tacky for his tastes, had molded itself to his hands into the more familiar shape of his preferred sword.

He gripped his hands experimentally. The sword fit neatly in his hands. Neither Servant paid him any mind...until he nearly cut the blond's head off with the sword. Lancer blinked, but then fell in step with Harry's attacks. Suddenly the mystery Servant was put on the defensive.

"Che. You win this round brat. But when I find that woman, she is dead," said the servant coldly.

"Only if you can handle basilisk venom being shot into your eye," Harry said back.

Lancer gave him an odd look, but said nothing.

Lancer gave his pseudo master a look (Harry was _infinitely_ better than that fake priest!) as he asked what Harry meant by basilisk venom.

"I was bit by a basilisk, a full grown one at that, when I was twelve. A phoenix healed me, but according to the goblins my blood will forever have basilisk venom in it. The phoenix tears in my blood are the only reason my body adapted to the venom."

"Damn...a full grown basilisk at twelve? What the hell made you go up against one of those?" asked Lancer impressed.

"Damsel in Distress, and her brothers would never let me hear the end of it since I knew where the thing was."

"Ah. Say no more."


	9. Morgan and Merlin Chapter One

When Phoebe and Hadrian Potter were born, no one could have foreseen what would happen.

One was the reincarnation of Merlin himself, born again to bring the magical world back to greatness.

The other was the reincarnation of Morgan Le Fey, Merlin's rival. Born to bring the world to it's knees.

Hadrian Emrys James Potter, and Phoebe Morgan Potter were polar opposites at birth. Born to hate and eventually destroy each other.

But _Fate_ intervened. For they were born on a prophesied day, in the middle of a war of light and dark. Had the Dark Lord not found out about the prophesy, the twins would have been set against each other when they reached the age of seventeen.

But Voldemort could not afford to let an infant grow up to bring about his downfall.

So one Halloween night he came to the Potter house and killed Lily and James Potter. He then set his magic against the twins, sleeping in cribs. He first went after Hadrian...but something happened.

Phoebe protected her brother. The deadly curse rebounded on the Dark Lord, turning him into a wraith, for he had created seven soul carriers to prevent his death.

The twins survived that horrible night, bound together by death. Phoebe and Hadrian received a pair of odd scars on their foreheads, in the shape of crossed lightning bolts.

Dumbledore, leader of the Light, sent the twins to live with their mother's sister, a horrid woman who despised all magic. Out of jealousy of her younger sister, she loathed her niece and nephew with a passion.

Instead of being driven apart by destiny, they came together from love. For each year they were abused by their family, the bond grew stronger. Harry protected Phoebe, and Phoebe protected him. Their family feared them, and for good reason.

When both twins joined hands, their magic grew until it could overpower both sides of Dark and Light with a single word.

There was a reason why Morgan and Merlin were never meant to join forces. With both magics combined they could change the world into paradise or encased it in permanent darkness.

* * *

The twins had just turned eleven when they received their letters. Phoebe and Harry went to get the mail when they saw them. Phoebe, the clever one, hid hers in their cupboard.

Harry decided to read his later.

Their uncle discovered Harry's letter in his clothes, and ripped it up before he could read it.

Vernon was terrified that the twins would learn of their magic. It would spell disaster for his family.

That night Phoebe opened her letter and they read it.

"_Dear Ms. Potter, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."_

"I got a letter exactly like this. Does that mean...?"

"I think our dear..._family_...has some questions they need to answer for us."

They never got answered. Until the shack, when Hagrid rescued them. Phoebe, unlike her brother, did not trust this man. The reason was simple. She remembered him from her past, specifically the ride to their aunt's house. So she asked something that had been bothering them for years.

Who had put them in Petunia's care, and were they aware of her hatred of all things magical?

"Hagrid, who left us at our aunts?" asked Phoebe.

"That would be Professor Dumbledore. Great man, Dumbledore, great man."

Phoebe scowled. Dumbledore was the name of the headmaster of the school they would soon attend. If he was in fact the fool who left them with Petunia, he would have to suffer the consequences of his error. Normally the twins got revenge through pranks and minor jokes.

But after the ten years of hell they had endured at the hands of their...family...pranks and jokes wouldn't suffice.

She brought up her conversation with Hadrian, and found he agreed completely. Depending on what Dumbledore said about the decision, and his reasons for making it, the twins would make his life hell.

It was only fair after all.

* * *

They stopped at the bank, and Phoebe asked an intelligent question about their vault.

Had she not, Hadrian would never have found out about the other vaults, or that someone had been stealing from them for years. They sealed off the ones they couldn't go into just yet, and withdrew enough funds for both of them to buy their supplies and a pet each.

While at the pet shop, Harry looked at the owls, and Phoebe the other birds. She found an interesting crow which shared a dark look with her. She bought him immediately and named him Quoth as a joke. (She's a fan of the Discworld series.) Harry bought a snake since none of the owls caught his interest. It was a rather unusual snake, with odd patterns on the scales. The eyes were an amber-gold color, and drew him in.

The snake left the shop not in a cage, but hiding under Harry's new robes as a tie. No one paid the least attention to it. All eyes were drawn to their scar instead.

They headed for their wands last.

Harry jumped when Ollivander snuck up on them, but Phoebe didn't.

Harry tried out the wands first, and quickly had a pile half as tall as they were.

"Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches."

Red sparks emitted from the wand before it blew up in his face. The wood was turned to ash, and the feather was missing. (Phoebe saw the feather get absorbed into her brother. She said nothing.)

Harry took another wand, this one an elder with sky phoenix core, thirteen inches. Sky blue sparks emitted from the tip, and this time didn't blow up in his face.

"Curious. Very curious."

"What's curious?" asked Phoebe, already knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"The holly wand that was ruined had a core who's brother gave you two those scars. The phoenix who donated that tail feather only gave one other."

"And the one which chose my brother?"

"Only gave the one, though there is an odd rumor about it. According to legend, Merlin had a Sky Phoenix for a familiar. Rumor had it that it never died with him, but lived on to find his reincarnation. The phoenix which donated the feather for your brother's wand is believed to be that phoenix, for there are none left."

"Did Morgan Le Fay have a familiar?"

"A soul-eating crow demon. But it supposedly died with it's master. I wonder..."

Ollivander went into the back and brought out a box. Phoebe could hear something calling to her from within, and drew out the wand in the box.

Black sparks erupted from the tip, and she felt a connection.

"Now that is even more curious. The core of that wand is the only remaining feather of the soul-eating crow demon. The wood is ebony and elder, the darkest combination I have ever created. I never believed I would live to see the wand take a master."

They paid for their wands, and Hagrid found them. Behind his back was a cage containing a snowy white owl. Clearly he had seen Harry looking at them earlier.

"Happy birthday Phoebe and Harry!"

The fact that Hagrid had cared enough to get them the owl gave Phoebe enough reason not to go after him later.

After all, it was obvious he was only following orders when he brought them to Petunia.

* * *

Harry named the owl Hedwig. His new snake was called Ciel. Hagrid went to return them to their aunt's home, Phoebe kept aside several gold coins. There was no way they were going to stay at Privet Drive until it was time to leave.

A few hours later Phoebe was meditating with her brother, something they started doing the moment they read her letter. Feeling the odd pulse within them, they had experimented secretly at night for the past week. So far only Phoebe was successful at getting the pulse to do anything constructive.

Which is why she was the one to open the door, shrink their newly bought trunks and cages, and pull out her new wand.

A violent purple bus appeared with a bang, not that anyone but the twins saw it. Harry was the lookout for watchers, which Phoebe had noted months ago. It was three in the morning, so no one was about.

The vehicle read 'The Knight Bus'.

"Where to then? My names Stan and I will be your conductor this evenin'."

"Leaky Cauldron."

"Three sickles per rider, four if you want hot chocolate and a toothbrush."

Phoebe paid six sickles, and they were off. Soon they were in front of the same pub they had left hours ago. Phoebe had anticipated this, since she had ducked out while Hagrid was talking to Harry to buy two baseball caps. Both twins had one on, and went into the pub.

"What can I do for you two?"

"A room with two beds please."

"Five galleons for the room, breakfast is in three hours."

Phoebe handed over the coins, and Tom lead them to their room. Within minutes the twins were asleep.

Four hours of sleep later, they headed down to breakfast. With their caps on no one realized that the Potter twins were there. They ate as much as they could handle, feeding their familiars at the same time.

* * *

After breakfast they went to Gringotts to get either some more coins or better yet the location of a house where they could crash.

In the end they found out about five vacation houses where they could stay without the old goat knowing, and refilled their available funds.

They went on a minor shopping spree, loading up on books and buying a weightless bag to carry them all. Phoebe was in charge of the bag.

The other half was converted to muggle funds, and they went straight to the nearest mall to get some clothes that actually fit for a change.

* * *

September first...

Phoebe followed the other first year who had stayed with his parents in the Leaky Cauldron. The grandmother was more than happy to show them how to get on the platform, all they had to do was keep up. Her grandson Neville was thrilled to make some new friends before he even got on the train.

Harry kept the toad Neville owned from escaping, while Phoebe people-watched.

They had arrived two hours early after all.

Meanwhile Harry and Neville chatted, comparing the life of a muggle raised wizard to a pure blood raised one. Harry was a bit concerned when he learned Neville would be using his father's old wand. Phoebe had gotten out a book about rituals to read while the boy's chatted.

A girl with bushy brunette hair walked in and asked, "Mind if I sit with you? A few of the Prefects threw me out up front."

"Go for it. I could use some girl talk," said Phoebe.

"Hermione Granger."

"Phoebe Potter. This is my twin brother Hadrian."

"Neville Longbottom."

Suddenly he did a double take.

"Wait, did you say Potter? As in the Twins who lived?"

"Why do you think we were wearing caps all the way here?" said Phoebe.

Both twins removed their caps, revealing the blood red and black scars. This set off Hermione who had apparently read up on them.

"Look, I don't know what drivel they've written about us, but it's not true. Do any of your books talk about our muggle family who despises all things magical?" said Phoebe once she was finished.

They looked at them, startled. Harry nodded in confirmation of Phoebe's words.

"Our aunt and uncle hated us because we have magic. And their son used to chase us to the school rooftop. Every time we did better than him, we got beaten."

"Blimey. You should report them to the Department of Magical Child Care!"

"They actually have one of those? Every time we alerted an adult the reports would go missing and the adult would be replaced," Phoebe informed them.

Soon they discussed houses, and which they thought they would get. Neville thought he might be a Puff, or a Gryffindor if he was really lucky. Hermione voted for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, which she informed them was Dumbledore's old house.

_Definitely not Gryffindor for us then,_ thought Phoebe.

A red head entered the compartment, asking "Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"So is this one. And I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the train is spelled to add compartments when needed," said Phoebe.

But the red head was persistent, until Phoebe literally threw him out...into a card tower that exploded.

A pair of red haired twins smirked, and gave her a ghostly ten from their wands. Phoebe gave them a Victory sign and they grinned wider.

"I despise pushy people."

The third time the door opened, an a pale platinum blond boy came in, with a pair of muscles.

"They're saying all down the train that the Potter twins are coming to Hogwarts."

"And what if they are?" asked Harry.

"My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. These are Crabbe and Goyle."

"Draco, as in the Latin word for dragon. Or were you named after the star constellation?" inquired Phoebe.

He looked startled.

"I...honestly have no idea."

"Well, I'm Hadrian and this is Phoebe. That's Hermione and this is Neville."

"Neville...as in the Longbottom heir?"

Neville tried to become smaller, which was impossible.

"You aren't going to be as pushy as that red haired kid are you? I had to throw him out into a card tower that exploded."

"You mean someone made a card house of Exploding Snap cards? Must be the Weasly Twins."

"Weasly?"

"There are four Weasly brothers currently in Hogwarts, three are Gryffindors. Percy, Fred and George. How old was the one you threw out?"

"About our age."

"That would be Ron then."

Phoebe grinned.

"Hey Draco, if you can ditch the Crabby Gargoyles you can sit with us. Maybe you can tell us more about this school."

"I'll be right back."

Five minutes later Draco was sitting next to Harry and Neville.

"So Draco, what can you tell us about the houses?"

"There's Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious, Ravenclaw for the brilliant and bookish, Gryffindor for the brash and brave, and Hufflepuff for the loyal and hardworking."

"Sounds like you belong to the Puffs, Nev," said Harry.

That seemed to bring him out of his shell a bit. Clearly Draco wasn't going to pick on him while he was trying to befriend the Potter twins.

"Yeah, I would rather be in a house known for loyalty and hard work than one known for getting themselves killed," said Phoebe.

"I hope to get into either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. My godfather is in charge of Slytherin house."

"Who's your godfather?"

"Severus Snape, the potion teacher. McGonagall runs the Gryffindor house, she teaches Transfiguration. Sprout leads the Puffs, and she's the Herbology teacher. Flitwick heads the Ravenclaw dorm, he teaches Charms."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow.

"Is it just me or do all the heads of house teach a core subject."

"I never noticed that before," said Draco.

"Anything off the trolley dears?"

"We'll take the lot," said Harry.

Despite there being a mild argument over frog cards, the treats were more or less distributed evenly.

Phoebe opened her chocolate, and grabbed the frog firmly before biting it's head off in one bite. She looked at the card underneath and her eyebrows raised.

"I got Morgan Le Fey."

Harry held up his own two.

"Dumbledore and Merlin."

"I didn't know there was a Morgan LeFey card. They normally don't run Dark witches or wizards," said Draco.

"Huh. Wonder why they ran her then?"

Phoebe read the card, and felt something click.

"You know my middle name is Morgan."

"My happens to be Anne," said Hermione.

By the time they reached the castle, they had discussed odd topics like favorite books to the strange quirks that their families had.

The twins won the strangest, with their families 'normality' drive. The fact that they worked like made to seem normal was abnormal in extreme.

On the plus side, Draco found that the twins weren't as Gryffindor-ish as he feared. Everyone expected the twins to be Gryffindor role models, or to be disgustingly honorable and brash.

Which meant Draco could possibly become actually friends with them. Or at the very least Phoebe,who was clearly a bit more dark than her brother. Somehow he got the feeling that Phoebe was destined to be a Slytherin.

Hagrid called out for the first years, and they climbed into the boats, four a piece.

Neville, Harry, Draco and Ron all climbed into one, Phoebe, Hermione, Lavender and Padma in another. Harry leaned out and saw a squid tentacle swim lazily past. He grinned.

They entered the chamber to await the sorting. Harry really, really hoped he didn't have to share a dorm with Ron. He wouldn't quit staring at his scar, and it annoyed him.

The ghosts were a bit startling, and for some reason they gave Harry and Phoebe an odd look. The twins ignored them.

* * *

_The sorting..._

"Potter, Hadrian!"

_Ah, so you've arrived at last. What's this? Neither you nor your sister wish to enter Gryffindor? Strange...you would both be suited for it. Or at the very least you would. You have a desire to learn, and a mind which can see past most deceptions. Shall I place you in Slytherin? Or perhaps Ravenclaw is more to your liking?_

_Which one suits me and my sister better?_

_Better be..._

"_Ravenclaw!"_

Harry sat at the blue and gray table, ignoring the disappointed looks from the red and gold one.

"Potter, Phoebe!"

_Eh? What is this? A mind unclouded by the preconceptions of the magical world, and knowledge of how to use your true power? And why do I sense a dark presence within you?_

_How should I know?_

…_Ah, that explains it. I wondered why your brother's mind was so bright. Both of you possess the spirits of age old rivals, yet you yourselves are closer than most. So you are the new body of Morgan Le Fey. Which house do you wish to be placed in? Ravenclaw with your brother or Slytherin?_

_While I would love to be with my brother, it would probably be best if I was in Slytherin. It's not like I can't give him the password so we can spend time together._

"_SLYTHERIN!"_

Phoebe sat next to Draco and gave her brother a thumbs up. He grinned, and knew his sister would bring that house to it's knees in no time. Besides, green suited her better than blue.

Hermione grinned at him from across the table, while Neville relaxed a bit with the other Puffs. Dumbledore on the other hand was hiding a frown.

Already the twins were ruining his carefully laid plans. They were supposed to be Gryffindors, not a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin! And why did that wench look so smug?

* * *

Phoebe quite enjoyed sitting with the other snakes. She was across from Draco, and between two other girls named Daphne Greengrass and Lythiel Moon. Soon she was discussing wizard fashions to muggle ones.

While his sister debated fashions with the Snakes, Hadrian debated fantasy novels with the Ravens. His favorites were the literary classics like Shakespeare, _Dune, _and _Lord of the Rings._ He had a copy of several of those series, and several of his fellow Ravenclaws were eager to share books with him.

Hadrian went with the other first year Ravens to their dorm, but not before waving to his sister. She grinned and waved back.

Hadrian noted at least three times that the prefect had taken them in a circle before they were confronted by a suit of armor which spoke a riddle.

"To enter our dormitory, you must solve the riddle that the suit presents you. It will only speak this riddle to someone wearing Ravenclaw colors. If you want to let someone in from another house you will have to open the door yourselves."

Hady grinned. Phoebe and Hadrian shared that odd ability that all twins possessed. They could communicate without words.

Personally he couldn't wait to meet these Weasly twins that Draco spoke of on the train. Perhaps they would be interested in bothering the headmaster with them?

Meanwhile Phoebe had followed the prefect to...the dungeons?! She groaned.

Daphne looked at her oddly. Another girl looked at her the same way.

"I hate the cold. Had someone mentioned the Slytherin dorms were in the dungeons I would have gone to join Hady."

The other girl laughed.

"What's your name?" asked Phoebe, interested.

"Sally-Anne Perks."

"Phoebe Morgan Potter."

"So why did you choose Slytherin? Everyone thought you and your brother would go into Gryffindor like your parents."

"Maybe we would have, had that old goat with _zero_ fashion sense and color coordination hadn't placed us at our aunt's for ten years."

Sally winced.

"Unless you think Dumbledore is wearing the latest fashion."

Sally-Anne and Daphne gagged at the thought.

"Passssword?" hissed the snake.

"Rise of the Dark."

The prefect turned to the new Slytherins and said, "If you don't give the password before you enter the dorm, you will walk into the stone wall."

"There are a few rules of the dorms. One, if you can't ward your stuff properly or you get caught stealing that's your own problem. Two, if you're going to turn on one of our own, do it in the dorm. Everyone is gunning for our house, as they believe we're Death Eaters in training. Three, our motto is simple: Admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter-accusations."

"A close second is if you can smile while everything is going to hell then you have someone else to blame," added the other prefect.

"Girls are allowed in the boys dorms, but boys aren't allowed in the girls. If you try to enter their dorm it will become a slide."

"Aren't we a bit young for R rated thoughts?" snarked Phoebe. She smirked at the blushes of many of the others, enjoying making people squirm.

It was her favorite pastime, and something her brother never bothered to prevent.

She turned to Sally-Anne and Daphne "So where exactly are the warming charms located?"

"Next to the window."

"Who wants to bunk next to me? Whoever gets there second gets a warming charm placed directly on the bed for free."

Sally-Anne and Daphne looked at each other, before Sally-Anne said "I'll bunk next to you."

"I hate having the sun in my eyes anyway. Can you do Lythiel's bed too?"

"Sure. Study partners then?"

They nodded, and Phoebe dashed up the stairs to their new room. Sally-Anne took the bed next to her, when they heard the sound of footsteps out the door.

Pansy was too late to get the best beds. She saw red and tried to charge Phoebe.

Unfortunately Phoebe had quickly become a master of wandless spells as she threw up a hand and said "Shield."

Pansy hit something that made a sound similar to a bell. Phoebe was smirking like the devil herself. Pansy kept trying until Phoebe finally drew her wand and said "Stupify."

She was out like a light then. Millicent picked up the annoying girl and put her on an unclaimed bed in the other room for first year girls. The dorm could only hold four girls to a room. Stacy Davis, Morag McDougall, Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy had the other room.

There was only one problem with this. The second room was considered second best because it had no windows. And the Parkinson clan prided themselves on always having the best.

Not this time. The only way Parkinson was going to beat Phoebe was to get up far earlier than was sanely normal for an eleven year old. And Pansy liked to sleep in.

To add more insult to injury, Phoebe had another secret weapon. Unlike the other girls in her year, she wasn't aiming for the title of Slytherin Princess. She was going to be a Slytherin _Queen._ A position of power and strength, whereas the princess girls were simply there to fill space and look pretty, the soon-to-be queen would rule the house with intelligence and power.

Hogwarts was doomed.


	10. Fate Breaker Chapter Two

Bazett was surprised when Lancer and Harry returned, relatively unharmed.

"You two alright?"

"Kid's good. He has a lot of prana for a wizard, and his sword skill isn't half bad either. Bazett, I hate to say this, but it might be a better idea for you to hide until the war is over. With your arm you're going to be more vulnerable than Harry here without his wand."

"No. I won't give up just because of my arm!" said Bazett heatedly. She wanted to give her hero a second chance.

"He's right. Besides, I have an idea about that. Since you can't fight and your prana is basically using itself up just to heal you, why not have me fight in your stead? Just tell me what it was you wanted from the Grail and I promise I'll do my best to get it for you," said Harry.

Bazett gave him a long look.

"How do I know you won't take it for yourself?"

"An unlimited wish is nice, but the only thing I would ask of it would be to kill the bastard who ruined my life, and I could do that myself. Besides, I never go back on my word. Plus you can keep an eye on Hedwig for me and insure she doesn't get taken hostage by one of the other masters."

Bazett looked at Harry, really looked at him. If she did what he was suggesting, then she wouldn't have a stake in the war at all. But...she could give him two magic crests and keep the last one as a back up just in case.

"Fine...I'll give you a second crest, but I'm keeping the last as a just in case scenario, okay?"

"I can live with that. In the meantime we need to find a way to hide you. That blond bastard will kill you if he finds you."

* * *

Bazett couldn't believe Harry had the infamous Cloak of Death. According to him he inherited from his parents. At the very least, it did the job they needed. She was effectively hidden under the cloak from any Servants in the area.

It took him three days and a few near misses, but eventually he found a Master who didn't want to kill all the others in order to win. Emiya Shirou was a nice person. And he was more than understanding when he heard of Harry's plight.

At the very least, he didn't order Saber to kill him when he approached the boy in his own home, unarmed. Considering his Command Seals were in full view that was more than could be said about other masters.

"Shirou, I don't agree with allowing Lancer's Master in your home. At the very least you should have killed him," said Saber.

"Ano... Harry isn't Lancer's actual master. He's just the surrogate since the real one was too badly injured."

Saber blinked. That was...extremely odd. She would have to investigate this, because Masters don't willingly give up their position or command seals without good reason.

Shiro heard a knock at the door, and opened it. There was the Master from earlier named 'Hari', though why he had a such a girly name he had no idea. Behind him was Lancer, keeping a sharp eye out for other Servants.

"So where is this person you wanted to hide?"

"Bazett, you can take the cloak off now."

A young woman with short red hair and earrings that looked identical to Lancer's appeared from under a piece of cloth. She was giving Saber a calculating look, but when the Servant didn't attack she did nothing.

"She looks fine to me," Saber said tartly.

"She would, after being forced to drink nearly fifty healing potions and undergoing several spells to heal her after six hours of surgery to reattach the arm that had the command seals," said Harry crossly back. Saber winced.

"What happened?" asked Shirou.

"After I summoned Lancer I was stabbed in the back by that fake priest in charge of the Grail Wars. Kotomine damn near killed me just to gain control of Lancer. If Harry hadn't stumbled on me in that shed, I would have died from blood loss alone. I still have no idea how the hell his owl broke whatever hold Kotomine had on Lancer."

Saber stared at Harry. He stared right back. He wasn't going to back down, even if every instinct in his mind screamed for him to bow.

Shirou helped Bazett into the dining room. There she stiffened if only because there was another Master and Servant there. Harry blinked, but stood closer to Bazett as a precaution. His wand was ready for action should the need arise.

"And here I thought Shirou was having me on. Why would a Master need shelter from the War? Shouldn't you be seeking sanctuary at the Church?" asked the girl.

"Considering it was the one who was supposed to be supervising this entire thing that sent her into a near death state and stole her Servant originally...?" Harry left hanging. The girl winced, but she didn't try to disprove him.

She knew Kotomine, but she had no idea he would try to work around the Grail system.

"If you're the true Master of Lancer, then who is he?" asked the girl.

"You want the short story or the long one?" he quipped.

"Long, if you don't mind."

"I was taking a walk, Lancer spotted me and I'm assuming noticed the fact I had magic and started chasing me around in order to kill me. Fortunately for me I'm used to running long distances. During the mild fight we had, I fell into the shed Bazett here was trying to hide in while her healing spells kept her alive. If I hadn't fallen in, she would be dead. My familiar, an owl named Hedwig, managed to break whatever spell this Kotomine used to bind Lancer to him. While we were at the hospital, Bazett gave me one of her Command Seals in order to fool the other Masters as a precaution. Unfortunately we ran into what Lancer said was Archer, a man with gold hair and armor that used a lot of weapons I didn't recognize and a few I did. We managed to force a draw, but we needed to hide Bazett since she wouldn't be able to fight for the remainder of the war," said Harry simply.

The girl stiffened.

"Are you absolutely certain it was Archer?"

"That's what Lancer told me. He certainly didn't act like an Assassin, he didn't have anything to ride, didn't use spells, he was sane, and Lancer was beside me."

"But that's impossible!" she said.

"Why?"

"Because the Archer of this war is right here!"

A man came into view, wearing a red coat and black armor. His skin was very tan and his hair was completely white. Harry blinked.

"Wait, if that's Archer and Saber is right there, then how..."

"It's possible that there are two Archers. However the amount of prana needed for the one you encountered to remain here this long after the last disastrous Grail War ended..." said Bazett reluctantly.

The girl shifted uncomfortably.

"I know who his previous Master is. However Kotomine's Servant was killed in the last war. What I want to know is how he got his hands on my Father's Servant!"

Harry looked at her.

"Your father?"

"My father was killed during the last Grail War. The only reason I'm in this is to regain the glory of my family. However this War is already costing me too much and I'm not certain I would be able to fight my usual way."

"Hmm...How exactly do you fight?"

"I'm not about to tell you," she snapped.

"You tell me your way and I'll show you mine. Not like those fools back in England can track me all the way here."

The girl gave him an odd look before placing a single gem on the table. Harry lay his holly and phoenix feather wand on the table.

"Wizard?"

"Harry James Potter, at your service," he said with a mock bow.

The girl gaped openly.

"Well, if we're doing introductions... My name is Emiya Shiro, Master of Saber," said the red head who allowed them in.

"Bazett Fragerach, the True Master of Lancer."

"Well you already know who I am. I'm the replacement Master for Lancer acting on Bazett's behalf. I'm also a wizard from England who managed to escape his rather unpleasant relatives and could care less about being in the middle of another war," quipped Harry. A hoot drew his attention, and he raised his hand for his owl to land on.

"This is Hedwig, my owl. Insult her at your own risk, she's got a mean back wing."

"Back wing?" asked Archer.

Hedwig decided to use her wing to back slap the man in red.

"Never mind."

"Rin Tohsaka, Master of Archer," said the girl primly.

"Well now that that's out of the way, anyone in the mood for dinner? Archer and Lancer might have to hide, but I think I can spin a tale that Taiga will believe," said Shiro. He didn't look hopeful though.

Harry eyed Shiro.

"You're like me, right? Always willing to lend a hand to people who need it and never asking for anything in return?" he asked speculatively. Judging by the snorts from Rin, Saber and Archer, he hit the nail on the head.

"What about it?"

"Tell her a half truth. Bazett here was attacked by some whacko on the streets and you offered to let her stay until the man's caught or her family can get a hold of her to send her money to bring her home. I can act as her cousin or nephew, since my mother was a red head and a color charm wouldn't be that hard to do. Lancer can be her boyfriend since he and Bazett speak with an Irish accent (he ignored the blush from Bazett and the snort from Lancer). Archer here can be Rin's escort since no family would allow a young lady to wander the streets at night with all the attacks going on."

Rin blinked. With Shiro's personality it was a viable lie. And it explained why they were all in Shiro's house.

"And what exactly would he get out of this?"

"Well I could let him use my old spell books, since he is a magus...and I can give you jewels to work with since I don't have any better use for them," said Harry.

Rin looked at Shirou speculatively. It was true he made a half-assed Magus at best...but, he could make a decent wizard if given a chance. The two branches weren't that dissimilar.

"I still don't see how this would benefit us," said Saber.

"You don't know recent history," said Rin back.

Seeing all eyes on her, aside from a resigned looking Harry, she continued.

"Harry James Potter, son of the Pure Blood Magical James Potter and the mundane born Lily Evans, is the only known survivor of the wizard spell known only as the Killing Curse. Anyone who uses it gets and immediate sentence to the magical prison Azkaban, which is full of the most foul creatures imaginable. He is also the one who took out the menace known as Voldemort in Europe, and is hailed as the Boy-Who-Lived because at the ripe old age of one he survived an attack from one of the most powerful Dark Wizards in recent years."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well at least it doesn't sound like hero worship. I hate that. But you're missing a few facts," said Harry.

"Voldemort, formerly the wizard known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, is someone who drove a good portion of the pure blood wizard community into a frenzy by spouting a load of tripe about Pure Blood supremacy over those not from old magical lines. He terrorized Europe for several decades before he targeted me for some reason, and his spell backfired destroying his body. He continued to come after me for four years until two months ago he succeeded in getting a new body...which by the way looks so damn cliché it's tacky. I came here because someone who works for a place called Clock Tower paid for my Aunt's family to come to Fuyuki city, though why they did that when it's based in London I haven't a clue."

Rin's eyes bugged out.

"CLOCK TOWER BROUGHT YOU HERE?!" she nearly shrieked. Harry, from long experience of dealing with Hermione when she was emotional, covered his ears in time.

The others weren't so lucky.

"Yes, and I had to pay the goblins thirty galleons for a new passport and vaccinations before coming."

"I don't believe this...Clock Tower sponsored a trip for you during the Grail War? They had to have known that there was a high chance you would be drawn in... It's been going on for a week now..."

"...Did I break her or something?"

Shirou blinked.

"This is actually the most quiet I've ever heard her being since I've actually gotten to know her..." said Shirou. Archer nodded emphatically.

Too bad for the Servant his Master heard the comment and noticed the motion, because she jabbed him in the stomach hard enough for him to start coughing.

Fujimura Taiga about barged into Shirou's home, and Harry quickly cast the color charm on his hair, turning it nearly the exact same shade as Bazett's.

Lancer blinked. With that hair color he could easily pass as her younger brother.

Once Shirou explained the lie Harry had concocted, and the fact Bazett really was injured badly it was enough to get the woman to back off. Apparently Shirou _did_ have a bit of a hero complex, and when Harry assisted with dinner she had no complaints.

* * *

Harry was heading to the kitchen when he heard the thump in the general direction of the bath. Apparently he was only one to hear it, as he was the one to see Bazett on the ground with a nosebleed.

"Anyone decent?" he called out.

"Not at the moment...damn, didn't expect her to faint..." said Lancer from the bathroom.

"...What the hell were you doing?" he asked.

"Taking a bath. She forgot to knock."

Harry blinked.

"So she passed out from a nosebleed from seeing you starkers? That is... PERFECT BLACKMAIL MATERIAL!" declared Harry with a grin. He took out a small camera he had bought when he heard they were going to Japan and took a picture.

Lancer, when he heard that, laughed.

"Close the door will ya?"

Harry walked past the bathroom, closed the door without looking, and dragged Bazett to the room Shirou had given her and Lancer.

By common agreement, Lancer would share a double room with Bazett while Harry had the room across the hall. Rin and Archer had another room down the same hall.

Later during dinner, when Lancer asked if she had gotten a good enough look she would blush bright red, causing both boys to laugh hard.


	11. Digital Wizard Chapter Two

Harry's first purchase (after clearing him to stay at the Cauldron for a month) was a magically powered laptop which he promptly loaded the _Digimon_ game. His second was the access code to the special wireless internet that worked along with the radios in Hogwarts.

No chance in hell was he suffering without his internet!

The next thing he got was some accessories for his team. At least he had a way to keep from being without a 'pet'. He had a Kudamon on his second team, who could serve as the pet until he got one he liked.

He walked around Diagon with what many assumed was an odd scarf.

He was about to make a cursory glance into the bookstore when he noticed a girl with a white cat on her shoulder.

Most of the people there paid it no mind, after all, it was clearly a magical cat.

Harry, on the other hand, immediately went to say hello.

* * *

Harry grinned when he snuck up behind them and said loud enough for the girl to hear "Gatomon Digivolve to Angewomon!"

The girl spun around, her bushy hair nearly hitting him in the face. She saw the Kudamon on his shoulder and put the clues together.

"Username?" she asked.

"Let's just say that if you frequent the Castle server a lot you would recognize it in a heartbeat. My team, however, is Gabumon, Renamon and Guilmon."

"Sorcermon, Gatomon here, and Armadillomon."

"_AthenaApprentice_?" he guessed. She looked like the bookish type.

"How did you know?"

"There is only one female avatar that has those three, and seeing that bracelet on Gatomon's tail, which is a limited edition item reserved only for those who bought the rare starter set when it first came out, only gave me the clue I needed."

"I am AthenaApprentice. And you are?"

"I suppose letting you know my secondary account is safe enough. I am WingMaster."

The girl's eyes doubled in size.

"But you're a boy!"

"My cousin was 'kind' enough to let me use his first account when he made a mistake and created a girl. After he quit playing I took over and changed the name first chance I got. I kept it mostly for trading purposes."

"But why do you have a Kudamon around your neck if you have Renamon and the others?"

"I don't have a pet yet, and he attracts less attention. Besides, I'm not about to bring my Marineangemon out if I don't need to have so much power," said Harry sensibly.

She blinked.

"Good point. Bringing a Mega level out is a bit..."

"Are you going to introduce me or not?" asked her mother. She had been amused that her daughter had found a friend so fast because of that odd cat she brought home one morning.

She could live with the fact it could talk because it never shed on the carpet or made messes and was so polite.

"Forgive me for being so rude. My name is Harry Potter and this is Scythe."

"Hermione Granger, and this is Sabriel."

"Hello," said the Gatomon.

"Greetings," said Kudamon.

"Where are your folks?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Dead, and my uncle would take it poorly if I showed up before the end of the school year. He's only putting up with this whole magic nonsense as long as he doesn't have to see it himself."

"So where are you staying then?"

"At the Cauldron. So long as I make it to the train, the teacher escorting me could care less if I stayed here."

"Now that won't do at all! You are coming to stay with us until the train," said Mrs. Granger upset. Leaving an eleven-year-old to fend for himself for a month!

"Yes ma'am," said Harry meekly.

* * *

Harry was glad to make a friend, even one as bookish as Hermione was. Because her parents knew about Digimon already (Hermione hadn't hesitated to introduce hers to her family) he was able to bring out Renamon and the others. Kudamon stayed around his neck, because this was actually the most interaction he had ever had with Harry.

Harry actually enjoyed staying with them, even if he did have to suffer Hermione's freak out when she found out what his actual username by accident.

"_You're Child_Of_Loki?!"_ she nearly shrieked.

"Like I said, I changed the username as soon as I had the chance. But yes, I am the infamous Loki," said Harry calmly.

He was famous as the Digimon Champion in the PVP Arenas. His 'house' was one of the best in the server, and it had been featured numerous times on the forums.

If he could, he would live in the Digital World and vacation in the real one.

As for his username...well, Loki was the master of Lie and Deceit in Norse mythology, and considering his arrangement with Vernon, it suit him perfectly.

Considering his other nickname was the Prince of Lies and Silvertongue, it fit him a little too well.

"I don't believe it...Loki himself is in my house!" said Hermione in absolute glee. She was a fan of his, because he never used the Mega forms of his team in the Arena battles unless the challenger requested his best.

"Do you have a Digivice?" asked Harry.

She held up something that was bronze, gold, red and blue. It was mostly bronze and blue though. Unlike Harry, she hadn't bought a D-Tector from the stores in the Digital World.

The D-Tector worked like a small computer, only it had a few basic programs and that was it. It wouldn't let him on the Digimon servers, or allow him to battle in the arena. In fact, it was of little use in the game, which was why most Tamers didn't bother with it.

But Harry had gotten it for one reason: reliable communication. It was perfect for storing Digieggs safely and communicating with anyone that you happened to be friends with. It also had a Digimon detector, but it wasn't as good as the actual Digivice. The map wasn't that great either.

"Is that an actual D-Tector? I thought those things were antiques!" said Hermione incredulous.

"They also look remarkably like a low-level cell phone to the untrained eye. I got it for the texting capabilities mostly. Never got to use it though."

"I guess. I never bothered with it much, because I don't have any friends either on or off the site," admitted Hermione. It had come with the same pack she had bought to get Gatomon, but she had never taken it out of storage.

"Well to tell the truth, I don't have and friends offline either. How about we change that and put each other on our friend's list?" suggested Harry.

The look in Hermione's eyes at that suggestion made him glad he ran into her in the alley.

* * *

Hermione was surprised when she saw Harry in his outfit.

"What is _that_?"

"My regular outfit. Now that I don't have to worry about my family, we can finally go after that gate guardian so I don't have to worry about laundry," said Harry with a grin.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't know? Your clothes are automatically replaced and returned to the best state once you go through the gates. According to Rena, if we defeat a special Guardian then we can take all our gear with us, including clothes."

"Really?"

"That's what I was told," said Harry with a shrug. He held out an arm to Hermione.

"Well my lady, shall we go battling together?"

Hermione giggled as she took his arm. It was nice to have a friend with her here.

As they walked into an arena, Hermione enjoyed the looks the other avatars shot her.

Her chat window was going nuts with rumors now.

"Are you really so popular?" she said in surprise.

"I'm the strongest at the arena, and the few times I took others with me into a dungeon, I usually take some gear and leave the fancier ones for my team."

"Function over form?" she guessed.

"Better believe it. The clothes I get are really neat and fit me, but the gear for my team has to not only work, but add to their stats enough that I'll keep it.

"Gatomon's tail ring came with the pack," she admitted.

"That's one of the few gears that come with pack that I _would_ keep. You know how hard it is to find a Gatomon Tail Ring that isn't for show?"

Hermione giggled again. The infamous Loki was rather nice and funny. Not to mention the only person willing to associate with her without being forced.

"What do you say we go dungeon hopping later, so you can get some good gear?"

"Definitely! I can never make it past the third floor on those," she said.

"I'll grab a few dungeon buddies then!"

Harry didn't have friends in the normal sense. He had dungeon buddies, people who knew they could trust him to help out when things got rough in the dungeons. About the only communicating _they_ did was coordination.

"Remember, my mother wants us back in time for dinner."

"That's what the alarm in the D-Tector is for."

What Harry hadn't told Hermione was that because the D-Tector was considered relatively low-tech, it would work around magic. All the other models had glitches that were near impossible to get rid of.

An hour later they were dungeon crawling, adding to the data that would give them new digimon later. The more they beat, the higher the data collected in their digivices. The Higher the level, the lower the collection rate. Hermione was very happy that she finally had a Datamon in her collection.

Once they left the Digital World (Hermione's mother allowed it, but only in short intervals, unlike Harry who was allowed to stay out of sight for two days at a time on weekends) they got washed and ate dinner. Harry could honestly say he liked spending time with the Grangers. He didn't have to hide his intelligence, or cover for his stupid cousin who didn't seem to get the fact that Harry was only doing it for himself.

He fully planned to see how Dudley reacted when he reached his majority and Harry couldn't cover for him anymore. The look on his face when he realized his 'freak' cousin had taken the blame in order to be left alone would be priceless.

* * *

"You have everything?" asked Mrs. Granger. Harry had woken up early and fixed his trunk so they could get there earlier. Hermione hadn't been far behind him. It took them five minutes to find the platform, mostly because the Digimon had an odd ability to see through magical illusions. An unexpected benefit for playing pet to their tamers.

(They actually HAD pets in the game. Hermione had Calumon while Harry had MarineAngemon.)

"Remember Harry, you can always visit us on Christmas with Hermione. You're the first real friend she's had in ages," said her mother.

"Mom!" said Hermione embarrassed.

"I'll take care of her ma'am," said Harry.

She glared at him.

"Let's head to the platform," sniffed Hermione.

"What was the number again?" said Mrs. Granger.

"Nine and three-quarters. Ridiculous if you ask me," said Harry.

"I think this is it," said Hermione.

She pushed into a pillar and it gave way. Her mother tried the same thing, but nothing happened.

"So that's how they hide it. A genetic lock for anyone who doesn't have the specific genome to use a wand... Fascinating."

"Yeah, fascinating," said Hermione. She wasn't really that interested.

"We'll see you soon, I hope Mrs. Granger."

"Have a fun school year kids!"

Gatomon and Kudamon were sound asleep when the other children started to come on the train. Because Harry had locked it almost immediately, none of the older years could kick them out of the compartment. Jamming it with a screw also helped, because they couldn't open it.

"Why did you have to jam it?"

"Because I happen to _like_ this spot, and because of my apparent fame in this world I would enjoy some peace to read."

Hermione thought back to how careless children interrupted _her_ reading time and nodded. Harry was about to go back to his book when he saw a downcast kid. He looked so lost that Harry opened the door and let him in.

"You can come sit with us. Just let me jam the door again," said Harry gently.

"I-I-I'm Neville..."

"Harry Potter. This is Hermione Granger," said Harry.

"H-H-Hello."

"Hey, what about us?!" said Gatomon.

"Sorry. This is Sabriel and Scythe. Don't mind them, they only woke up to see why I unlocked the door," grinned Harry.

"What are they?" asked Neville.

"We're Digimon, Digital Monsters!" said Gatomon.

"What are Digimon?"

"Hermione, my laptop please," said Harry grinning.

It was time to convert another to the cause. She rolled her eyes when she caught the look in his eye, having realized how obsessed he was over Digimon during the dungeon crawl. She put up with it because he was the only friend she'd made in years.

In less than an hour, Neville had become addicted to Digimon Online. He was now called _MandrakeKing._

His team consisted entirely of Plant type Digimon like Lalamon and Palmon.

"Welcome to the fold Neville. Here, I'll give you my usernames so we can talk online," said Harry.

Neville's smile nearly lit up the compartment.

"But enough about that! Time to celebrate with sugar!"

"Oh no you don't Potter! You know what my parents do for a living!" said Hermione. Right up until Harry held up Hermione's secret addiction...blue raspberry candy.

"Gimme!" she squealed in delight.

Harry leans towards Neville conspiratorially "Hermione can't resist blue raspberry. Sabriel told me it's one of the few things other than a really rare book to stay on her good side."

Neville nodded in agreement. Harry unjammed the door (which took a moment because several people had tried to get in since he allowed Neville to join them) in time for the witch who sold magical candy to arrive.

"Anything off the trolly dears?"

"What would you recommend Nev?"

"Frogs, avoid the Every Flavored Beans and possibly some sugar quills," said Neville after a moment's thought.

"Load us up Ma'am," said Harry. Neville was surprised that Harry took his suggestions and even paid for the treats. Harry didn't bother to jam the door this time.

It took Neville exactly ten seconds to realize his pet toad Trevor was missing.

Harry looked at Hermione.

"Who does it say in _Hogwarts: A History_ polices the students on the train?" asked Harry.

"Prefects. They have a car up front," she said, before going back to her sucker.

"Right. Hermione, you guard the compartment and if anyone bothers you have Sabriel scare them off. Scythe, you're with me," said Harry.

"Roger," said Kudamon.

Five minutes later they returned, with toad in hand. One of the red and gold prefects had summoned the errant amphibian for them, which meant they didn't have to go searching.

The boys briefly left the compartment long enough for Hermione to get changed before they got into their new clothes as well.

All too soon the train began to slow down into the station...

* * *

_**For those of you wondering why Draco didn't make an appearance, it was because of the jammed door. He got angry that he couldn't get in that he simply left, not realizing that the same person he was looking for was on the other side. And the Waddiwasi spell only clears out gum, not a piece of metal in the door track.**_


	12. Dr Black Chapter One

Artemis Fowl was a child genius. One who didn't like dealing with idiots, and who was forced to deal with such individuals due to his mother's insistence that he attend counseling. This was the fifth counselor to come to his school in hopes of changing his rather blunt and cold demeanor...or at least try to get him to respect authority figures enough not to make them cry with only a few words.

However this one was different from the rest in that he could barely find anything on him. Well, almost nothing, he found a damning list of injuries that he suspected were caused by the man's family when he was younger. If nothing else he could try to use that to make the man go away.

Harry Black would soon learn not to mess with an annoyed Artemis Fowl.

"So you're the one?" he said amused. The man was barely Five feet, ten inches, had shoulder length black hair held back in a simple pony tail and had emerald green eyes behind thin wire glasses.

"I assume you've been told about me," said Artemis dryly, looking bored.

"Oh, I was told about you alright. Quite a bit actually. And about your companion Butler. But from what I can see..." he left hanging long enough for Artemis to actually pay attention to what he was about to say next, "They were understating matters. You really don't like people do you?"

Artemis blinked.

"I like people well enough, Doctor Black."

"Oh, you tolerate them is more like it. You don't like them much because the sheeple are sadly, a collective bunch of morons," said Black flatly, enjoying Artemis' surprised look.

"Sheeple?" said Artemis, unfamiliar with the term.

"You got a better term for the bunch of idiots out there that follow collective opinion instead of making up their own damn minds?"

"...It's better than some of the terms I've used," Artemis admitted.

"Well, now that I have your attention, how about we get started and get this farce over with already? I can tell you don't want to be here any more than I want to hear children complain about the same damn problems worded differently a hundred times."

Artemis looked at him oddly. For some reason he was starting to like this Dr. Black. He was intelligent, had an acid wit, and didn't come to work thinking children were collective idiots and that he always knew better.

"So tell me Artemis, how did you manage to bring your mother back from the brink of insanity? Just curiosity you understand," he asked.

Artemis blinked.

"I asked a fairy."

"Really? Didn't know they had that sort of power."

"...You actually believe they exist?"

"I don't believe, I know. Though the ones I've seen generally fit the usual profile of the fairy that humans think of. What about the ones you've met?"

Now Artemis was assuming Dr. Black was pulling his leg. It annoyed him.

"They were decidedly human and roughly my size full grown. Of course there was that troll they unleash in my foyer," he said irritably.

"Trolls are a nuisance, I'll give you that much. Not very bright either."

Artemis glared at Black.

"If you are being condescending in order to lull me into a false sense of security..." he said annoyed.

"Not at all. Frankly I could care less if you were to leave the office in order to do something your mother wouldn't approve of. I'm only here because it shut up a friend of mine who kept nagging me about getting a job after I graduated that college. Hell, if you wanted I could just mark you here and let you go on your own way and work on my own projects in the time instead."

Artemis was really starting to get irritated. This man had to go, much like his predecessors.

So he tried another tactic, bringing up Black's past.

"So tell me doctor, how is it that you are so well adjusted after nine years of what I can only assume was extreme abuse?" countered Artemis.

"Going to try that card, eh? I must admit, you looked further than most. No matter to me... I didn't even cry at their funerals."

"Funerals?" blinked Artemis.

"Didn't you know? They died as humans they day I sent my so called Aunt and Uncle to the loony bin when I was knighted. My 'cousin' still talks to me but we don't see eye to eye. So go ahead, bring up the abuse if you want. But rest assured, nothing you try will get rid of me."

Artemis stared. Harry Black grinned.

Two seconds later Artemis was doused in some form of liquid that he later found out turned his hair a most horrid shade of hot pink. And just like that, Artemis declared war on the mysterious Dr. Black.

* * *

The first time Harry met Butler, the man had stared at him when he learned Harry's plan to make Artemis lighten up.

"...You intend to prank him?"

"Did you not see the pink hair?"

"You did that? I was wondering why he was muttering for hours..."

"While he is definitely the most closed off kid I have ever met, there is no way I'll let him walk over me like the others."

"Others have said that. He sent them running and crying."

"That was because they actually cared about their image and field. I only entered psychology as a lark to get a friend off my case. Plus, there is one thing Artemis has yet to figure out about me..."

Butler looked at him.

"I don't play fair and I could care less about his dignity. If he wants to be a brat, then he has to prepare for the consequences of declaring war with an unrepentant prankster."

Suddenly Butler didn't know whether to be sorry for the new counselor...or Artemis.

"...Can you take pictures?"

"Of course!"

* * *

The second appointment went much differently than the first. Mostly because Artemis had yet to figure out that Dr. Black was less interested in 'fixing' whatever social problems he had than he was in annoying the hell out of Artemis for fun.

"So tell me Artemis, why do you still believe your father is alive?"

"Because I know he is."

"Yes, but what is the source of this belief?"

"Please tell me you aren't trying to dissuade me of my 'delusions' that my father is alive. I have better things to do than listen to that," said Artemis.

"What delusions? I know for a fact that Artemis Fowl Sr. is alive. I'm just curious as to how you knew when his own wife lost her mind temporarily from the shock."

Artemis blinked. That wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"How do you know he's alive?"

"Ah, ah, ah! That would be telling. It's far more amusing to watch you jump through hoops trying to figure me out than it is to try and 'cure' you like all the other idiots."

"And what about my attempts to get rid of you?"

"Like I said before, I could care less. If you actually succeeded then I would have the amusing sight of watching you tear into my friend for getting me fired. She could use someone to argue against that won't bore her to tears," said Black amused.

Artemis left that meeting about ready to pull his hair out. Black was frustrating and he insisted on pranking him at the end of every meeting!

* * *

"I don't believe it... How long has it been since he was hired?" asked Professor Samuels.

"Four weeks. He's lasted the longest and he's had three sessions with Fowl," said Mr. Micheal in wonder.

"Three... that's two more than the rest! And have you seen Fowl when he comes out? He looks like someone actually dared to prank him!"

Samuel had to ask.

"How did you do it? He's sent four others out of here crying!"

Black paused from his lunch.

"You mean Fowl?"

"Yes we mean Fowl! How the hell have you managed to keep your sanity with him?"

"Easy. I don't bother trying to cure him. I've spent the last three sessions just annoying the hell out of him in a way that the headmaster can't get onto me for."

"What about Mrs. Fowl? Surely the brat has told lies about you to get rid of you?" said Micheal.

"You mean Angeline Fowl? Bwahaha...once I told her what my plan was she gave me the all clear! She said so long as I don't do anything that will traumatize or injure her son she would let me prank him as much as I want!"

"..." neither of the teachers could believe what they were hearing.

"I know people like Fowl. Hell, one of my best friends is a lot like him. She hates dealing with idiots as well, and it took years before she lightened up. You don't treat child geniuses or teenagers like children. You treat them like they are capable, thinking individuals with their own views and opinions. Treating someone like Artemis Fowl like a child who isn't capable of thinking for himself and has that high an IQ is just asking for trouble."

Unknown to the other teachers, Artemis had placed a microphone in that lounge. Hearing his own mother had agreed to let the pranks continue grated on him. However he was gratified to hear that Dr. Black didn't view him as a child without a mind of his own, but rather as a capable human being who was forced to tolerate complete idiots.

Didn't mean that he wasn't going to declare revenge though.

* * *

His first act of war was a bucket over the open door. It was full of foul smelling mud.

He was annoyed when it hit Butler rather than Black.

"Told you it would work," said the smug Black.

Butler grumbled and handed him ten pounds. They had a bet on whether Black could get Artemis Fowl to lighten up a bit.

Artemis fumed.

* * *

Angeline Fowl was very pleased with this new psychologist. It seemed his approach was actually working, unlike the last ones. She didn't mind that her son's dignity was taking hits because of harmless pranks if it got him to loosen up a bit.

According to Dr. Black (and confirmed by Butler) Artemis was already starting to act his age. He had attempted a harmless prank on Dr. Black today. She had only high hopes for this young man.

It was the talk of the school. Dr. Black appeared to be winning in the war against Fowl. Artemis looked rather angry that Black was still around, and a minor prank war had been declared between the two.

Though they did declare a truce when Artemis left for a week. Dr. Black took that time to deal with personal matters.

* * *

Artemis was in shock when he saw Dr. Black in France. Even more so when the man winked at him and waved at Holly.

"Oh no... not him!" said Holly.

"You know him?"

"Harry Black?! Every fairy knows of him! He's the only one suicidal enough to break into a goblin controlled bank! And we're talking the sane goblins, not the ones that we usually deal with!"

"...Wait, he knows about fairies?"

"How do you know that man?" asked Holly.

"...He's a psychiatrist in my school."

"Him? Helping people like you become normal? I'll believe it when I see it. That man is as messed up as you can believe. And it only gets worse when magic comes into play."

"He's magical?"

"Harry Black is a wizard. Probably placed a tracing spell on you out of concern."

"Not really. More along the lines of I asked Butler and he told me," said a voice behind them.

"...!"

It was Dr. Black.

"Hello Ms. Short. How is Root?" asked Black pleasantly.

"Fine, for the most part," she replied.

"Anyway, I heard from Butler that you received an e-mail about your father, and I thought I could offer my assistance in order to make it easier. Out of all the boys in that school you interest me the most Artemis."

"Why didn't you tell me you were magical?!" he demanded. All that time dancing around fairies, and the man turns out to be in contact with them!

"And ruin my fun watching you tear your hair out trying to figure me out? No thanks!"

Butler came out with information. Apparently the guy he was sent to question about the batteries had been hit with the Fairy Mesmer enough times that he was no longer quite sane.

Still, at least they had a lead.

Harry called in a few favors and found that Artemis Fowl Sr. was being held somewhere in a very isolated part of Russia. Fortunately he had friends in that area. Namely a certain Quidditch star named Victor Krum.


	13. Millenium Archive Chapter One

_I always knew I wasn't normal. I have a birthmark right on my chest in the shape of an odd heart. It is completely black, and just touching it sends a sharp touch of electricity going through me._

_It wasn't until I was five that I found out what the marking meant._

_I am the Echidna. A girl born once every five hundred years with the magic power of the world crystallized in my heart. When I turned sixteen the power will ripen to the point that anyone who can use magic can kill me, take my heart and obtain the power._

_But I didn't understand that until much, much later._

_When I was six, I met a boy wandering the wilderness near my tiny house. He looked so hungry and alone that I had to help him, despite the fact my guardian wouldn't like it. I had always been alone, ever since I could remember, surrounded by briars._

_I had no idea what helping that small boy would do to my future, or how it would change mine._

_When I was ten, I found a book on an old ritual called the Millennium Archive. It would take many years just to complete it, but it essentially gave you a library in your head to use whenever you wanted. It was the first piece of magic I had ever attempted, and why shouldn't I? The day I understood what I was, I knew I had the ability to use magic. During the initial process of the ritual, my mind split into two pieces._

_One was me, Willow, which was the name I gave myself. My guardian called me Emma, but I never liked it that much. The other part of me, the one created by the ritual, was called the Archive._

_Humans cannot handle having such a large amount of information stuffed into their minds, particularly at such a young age. The ritual had the side effect of creating a second personality inside the mage's mind. I called her Ivy._

_Our existence together was rather pleasant, especially when Ivy found a way to cut the time to finish the Millennium Archive in half._

_That was the day we split into two. We could return the way we were if we wanted, or we could stay apart. I preferred having her there, even if my guardian didn't notice her._

_When I was eleven, an owl managed to make it past the vines to deliver a letter to me. It was for a school of magic._

_But Ivy didn't want me to go, because something felt off. Who knew where I lived? How did they know I was there? And why did they call me Emma Potter?_

_So we did something that would later come back to haunt me. Ivy took my place, since she was my doppelganger only with blue green eyes the color of jewels. Ever since I started the Archive, my eyes had changed color. My right eye was emerald green and the left was sapphire blue. Ivy had a blue right eye and a green left._

_The strange thing was that everything Ivy saw, I saw as well. And for the past six years I saw what would have happened if I had gone._

_And I had no intention of ever returning. Ivy had already insured that no one would find out about me._

_Today is my sixteenth birthday. The day that the power inside me will mature and be ready to take._

_I can only hope that I survive long enough to complete the Archive._

* * *

Willow walked into the town, enjoying the anonymity that came from being herself. Because Ivy took her place and effectively kept the wand wavers off her back, she could walk outside the house without anyone trying to claim her. While Ivy learned all she could about wand magic, Willow spent every year reading and performing random rituals that she could. Rituals like punching a rock countless times to gain the Fist of the Underworld.

She could even create food, because she had finished the ritual of fasting. Certain rituals could only be completed thanks to the odd basement of her home, which turned into whatever she wanted. Once, she even summoned a Kiriko so she could complete the broom magic ritual.

However even she knew it was a pale imitation of the real thing. Her broom magic wasn't nearly good enough, and even Ivy had complained about it. It barely stopped a werewolf!

She stretched, and walked into the city without a care in the world.

This city was Eaglyas, the Hawk Eye City. Willow couldn't believe the city was so big. And unlike the European continent, this place was brimming with magic of all kinds. It wasn't hidden, nor was it flaunted.

It took her ten minutes to realize there was a problem. Everyone was staring at her. When one guy started chatting with her like he was in love, she knew she was in real trouble.

_Ivy! Everyone around me is acting crazy!_

She felt a shift, and Ivy was seeing through her eyes.

_**Ah, I see what's happening. The Echidna is acting up and affecting everyone in the surrounding area. You might want to get out of there before something really bad happens.**_

Right as Willow was about to run for it (mostly because multiple men had just proposed out of the blue) her luck ran out. The king who happened to be passing by the area spotted her and the power she had inside her took control of his senses. Before she could run, she was surrounded by guards and taken to a chapel.

Unseen by the women getting her ready for the sudden wedding, in her hand was a small knife, razor sharp. If she had to, she would use that painful ritual she had completed years ago as a last resort measure. It turned cuts into blades. The deeper the cut, the bigger and more powerful the blade.

It was lucky that the odd birthmark on her chest didn't scar, otherwise she would have to explain why she had such a weird mark on her chest. It was bad enough that her arms had scars from when she gave that boy bread.

Willow couldn't believe her eyes. Right as the king was about to force a kiss on her, a dragon appeared! And not one of those feral ones that Ivy saw, but an honest to goodness tamed dragon!

She watched in shock as the mouth opened...to reveal a boy who looked very much like the one she had saved, only he was older and in proper clothes this time. She was so startled that he had to use magic to grab her.

What really surprised her was the fact he used proper broom magic.

Once they landed on the ground, the boy changed her out of the rather gaudy dress into something much easier to get around in.

_**Well now, this is interesting. Shion, the Great Criminal of Ages. I wonder why he rescued you?**_

_Maybe he remembers me? He looks like an older version of the boy I gave bread to._

_**That might be it. Be careful.**_

Willow nodded inwardly, barely aware of Shion speaking.

The more she watched him, the more she was convinced that he was the boy she saved.

"...Um, are you the same boy who appeared near the briars that day? I never really got your name," she asked.

The mage, who was in fact the same boy she saved with the bread, looked really happy.

"You...remember me?" he asked.

She nodded.

"My guardian tried to erase that memory but it didn't stand up to Ivy. She removed all the blocks when she first appeared."

"Ivy?"

_**Willow, at least wait to see what he wants for saving you. If he's just repaying the debt then you can tell him about the Archive.**_

"She's...a friend of mine. She noticed the block when we first met and removed it."

The minute Willow heard the reason why he rescued her (it really was because she shared her bread with him) she debated how to tell him about the ritual she was currently undertaking. She decided to wait a while.

Though she did giggle at the look on his face when he tried his own cooking.

Fortunately Ivy managed to get her skill to a reasonable level after her first attempt nearly killed her.

Once Shion explained about the Echidna and how one could obtain it's power by killing her, her face paled.

"I knew I had that kind of power, but isn't that kind of overkill?" she asked.

"There are people out there who will do anything to obtain that power, even if it meant killing an innocent girl. I'm one of the few who would rather seal it in a way that it won't harm others," said Shion.

"So my nickname will be Willow the Black Witch, because of this power?"

Shion nodded.

"I'd prefer to be known as Willow the Archive, but I suppose Black Witch works as well," said Willow.

"The only mages known as Archives are those who have successfully completed the Archive ritual, which has been lost for over a thousand years," said Anise. Anise was a black cat who was just as skilled at magic as Shion was, but left the heavy lifting to the boy.

Willow grinned, and said "Archive Open!"

Books of all shapes and sizes surrounded her and eventually stilled. She took a quick count and frowned.

"Still need 57 more. Ivy's almost done with her end..." she muttered.

"How...?" asked Shion with surprise.

"That's Archive...but where did you...?"

"It wasn't that hard, and it helped that I had nothing better to do. You can complete Archive by filling a few minor requirements...though the amount of time it takes to finish it are absurd."

Shion looked very interested now. But he had to do something else first.

"There is a ritual which may return you to normal. But it will be very difficult."

"What is it?"

"We have to get married..." he said with a blush.

"EH?!"

* * *

_In the European Continents, Hogwarts Castle..._

Ivy choked on her drink. Willow got into the most absurd situations. But at least it was never boring. She took a deep breath...and then said "Archive Open!"

Once she took stock of the rituals she had completed or memorized (wand incantations counted as one-third ritual, which meant she had to study three times as much just to fit that qualification) she smiled. Only 30 more to go, and then she could ditch them all in the name of freedom. That old man gave her the creeps, and his manipulations annoyed her greatly.

He had not been happy to find out that she was a mage who used rituals more than she used her wand. That had only been added to when he learned she was a natural Occulmens who didn't even notice the defense she had in her mind. In order to find anything one had to go through countless books and the mind kept rearranging everything the second you put one down. It was infuriating.

Not to mention the odd ability she demonstrated when she got her first broom from her godfather.

Sirius and Remus had left the continent after she got to speak to them in private, and he had yet to find out where they were. Not even the mandatory Ministry trackers could find Remus because of his condition, which was very concerning.

"Once I complete my half...I am so out of here."

"You're taking us with you, right?" asked a blond haired girl with wide open eyes. This was Luna Lovegood, one of her few friends.

"Of course. Like I would allow my only friends to become breeding stock to these fools," said Ivy pleasantly.

The bushy haired girl with a problem with her teeth beamed at her. This was Hermione Granger, who was the first to ask why her eyes were hetero-chromatic instead of the emerald ones like in the books. Once Hermione discovered her love of books and the rituals which the Ministry refused to even acknowledge existed. The second she learned about the Archive magic, which allowed you to use any spell or ritual to the fullest extent without having to worry about certain drawbacks, she waited until she was home for the summer before completing the most basic form of the ritual.

Ivy grinned. These two would be in for a real surprise when they found out her true nature. In the meantime she listened in to Shion's plan to keep the Echidna under control until it could be sealed properly. She told her creator to go for it, since she didn't sense any malice behind his plan. In fact Shion was just as embarrassed as Willow was about the idea. Hell, he had a nosebleed when she showed the mark of the Black Witch (something Ivy didn't have, despite being a carbon copy of Willow) to him!

Once she took stock of the number of books, she decided to hit the Ravenclaw library for the older tomes. She found a lot of ancient and long forgotten rituals in there. One of which she sent to Willow so the girl would have more offensive magic in her arsenal. It was a Freeze ritual so powerful that it could even stop time and the senses.

* * *

Willow was asleep after the events, and it was so deep that she ended up seeing the magical construct inside her.

_**Willow, what the hell is that?**_

_I think...that's the Echidna!_

_**That headless thing? Why are we seeing it now?**_

_Maybe because the power is matured? Or because I'm sleeping deeper than usual..._

_**Either way if that thing goes out of control it will be bad.**_

As if the power inside her sensed Ivy's intent, it started to fight back. Willow's power was going out of control!

"Willow!" cried Shion in surprise and horror. Ivy watched as Shion placed the ring on her right hand, and the Echidna calmed down. She had heard of Magico, and she knew it would be a long road ahead for the pair.

On the other hand, it would also complete the requirements Willow needed to complete the Ultimate of Archive Magic, the Millennium Archive.

Once completed it would give the user an unlimited Archive of any magic they came across. And since Shion was a mage like them, he might come in handy in completing the rituals.

_**I like this kid Willow. Maybe we should keep him...after all, it's not every day a complete stranger risks themselves to contain such a powerful out of control magic.**_

_I agree. Shion-kun is really nice..._

_**Which reminds me. Could you possibly find Sirius and Remus? Last I heard they were heading towards the town of Rituals so they could ditch the old goat. They really want to meet you ever since I told them I was sent in your place to keep you safe.**_

_Send me a visual, and I'll keep an eye out for them._

* * *

**I have noticed that for some reason there is only one OTHER Magico crossover, and it's with Fairy Tail, which is kinda disappointing because it's a really great series, even if it's not serialized in America yet. If you want to read the real one, go to MangaReader dot Net and look it up.**

**Now, here are the requirements for Archive Magic, and I'll try to add the others if I get any information on them from the manga.**

Ritual: _Archive_

Type: _Gathering_

Requirements: _Mages must read books nonstop for at least 100 hours while awake, or at least some form of text so long as they don't repeat the same sentence twice in a row. The longer they read, the more powerful and larger the Archive will be. Archive Mages can use multiple forms of magic without worrying about opposite forms canceling each other out, and are literally living libraries. The more powerful Archives have a secondary personality which can document and store any magic they come across, so long as there is a similar spell already in their collection._

_The most powerful form of Archive is the Millennium Archive, which requires at least a level 10 form of the Archive magic, and the Mage must collect at least 1,000 rituals or 3,000 wand spells to be completed. Most Mages can only handle having 300 rituals at best without Archive magic, and even then the chances of the rituals canceling each other out are high._

_Anyone who can complete the Millennium Archive are able to disassemble, analyze and eventually duplicate any ritual or spell seen or physically felt and then use it against other mages. The main issue is that at best there are around 500 known rituals, and over a 1,000 forbidden ones which are almost impossible to complete without getting arrested._

_There are no known documented Archives who use both Wand and Ritual magic._

At this point both Willow and Ivy have almost completed half the Millennium Archive, but since both are essentially the same person, the moment they reunite it will be complete. The only downside is that when one personality is dominate in the body, the only rituals accessible to them are the ones they have completed personally.

Also, the reason why Ivy and Willow have two different eye colors is rather simple.

Ivy was created using the magic of the Echidna, but since she was essentially part of Willow's mind she ended up like one of Naruto's shadow clones. Her eyes are naturally sapphire blue, while Willow's are emerald. When she split apart, Willow and Ivy exchanged their eyes. Willow has Ivy's left eye while Ivy has her right. This is why they can see through each other's eyes even when they are thousands of miles apart.


	14. Believing is Seeing Chapter One

_Once, a very long time ago, when the Guardians were first formed there was another chosen. However because the Grim wasn't believed in by children, he was unable to protect them. So, he made a compromise._

_He would chose a mortal who could act in his stead as Guardian. Each Guardian agreed to this, because they all protected something in children._

_While the Guardians protected the children, Grim protected their lights of life. It was his power that gave the Globe it's ability to see the lights of the children's belief._

_Now, many centuries later, he finally had someone to act in his stead. There was just one problem..._

* * *

Tooth fluttered about. She had big news for the other Guardians.

"Have you heard? Grim finally found someone to act for him!" she said to North.

"Yes, yes, we all heard the news. Manny was very happy...but for some reason also a bit worried."

"Why would the Man in the Moon be worried? Isn't this a good thing?" asked Bunny.

"He said there is problem with the mortal Guardian," said North.

"**Your problem, not mine,"**said Grim.

"Grim! Long time no see!" said North.

"**Greetings, North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandman and Manny. I come with my new partner."**

"Well? Where is he?" asked Bunny.

They heard the rustling of cloth, and a cloak being pulled back.

"Oh no..." said Tooth.

"What is wrong?" asked North.

"Well? Why did you bring me to this cold place to look at a bunch of elves and what appeared to be yeti? If you expect me to believe this is the North Pole, you'll have to wait a long while," said the wizard.

"Wait, can't he see us?" asked Bunny.

Grim looked highly amused.

"**Like I said, this is your problem not mine. And by the way, Harry here can see Jack just fine. Have fun!"** said Grim, laughing while he ran off.

"Tooth, who is this kid?" asked Bunny.

"Harry Black...the new Master of Death. But I didn't expect him to be Grim's choice..."

"What is wrong?" asked North.

"Bloody Death...thinks it funny to ditch me in an abandoned factory..." grumbled Harry, sitting on the cold floor.

"Is not abandoned. Tooth, why does he say abandoned?"

"Because he doesn't believe. Only those who believe can see us...and he doesn't have a single shred of belief," she said.

Harry noted the odd little man with pictures above his head.

"I'll admit, that is a neat trick, but I still don't get it. I'm not very good at charades," said Harry.

"He can see Sandy just fine."

"Yes, but he can't see us! He doesn't believe in any of us!" said Tooth.

"What is the problem? Hey buddy, you _can_ see us right?" asked Bunny.

"Wind is awfully strong today."

Sandy laughed. He couldn't believe that out of all the Guardians only he could be seen by the new guy.

Then he got an idea. He created an owl out of dream sand and sent it to the new Guardian.

Harry smiled, and it was obvious the bird cheered him up.

"This is ridiculous. Why does he not believe in us?" asked North.

"Because he never had a chance to," said Tooth.

"What?" came the duo replies from Bunny and North.

"Harry Black... he wasn't raised like a normal child. Instead of looking forward to Christmas or Easter, he hated it. His family didn't allow him to believe. Out of all of us he only really believed in Sandy here because he made the dreams that kept him from giving up hope."

"That does it... If Grim thinks it's funny to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night just to dump me in a cold abandoned factory then I'm going to have words with Jack about freezing his boxers," said Harry.

"It looks like we need to have word with Frost," said North.

* * *

Jack was in disbelief. The Guardians needed _his_ help? Now there was a laugh.

"What do you need me for?"

"Because Sandman can't speak and new Guardian does not believe," said North.

"Wow, and here I thought Grim was joking when he said that you guys would come to me for help. What makes you think I can help you anyway?"

"Because the new Guardian doesn't believe in us. Since he's mortal, he has to believe in order to see us," said Tooth.

"And for some reason he only believes in you and Sandy here," said Bunny.

"But the only human who even believes in me is... Ah, I see why you have the problem then. I was the only one to play with Harry when he was growing up, so he started to believe in me. However not once has he believed in Santa or the Easter Bunny."

"Why not? What child not believe in Santa Claus?"

"One not allowed to have a Christmas," said Jack flatly. He turned to the Tooth Fairy.

"He might be able to see your fairies, since I do know that he was given food whenever they came to collect."

"What? They're only supposed to leave quarters or coins."

"Well according to him, they usually left him food instead. Small things like apples and fruits that he could eat. He remembered seeing fairies but he had to keep it to himself since if he said anything he would be beaten."

"What sort of family beat child for seeing fairy?" asked North.

"I don't know why, but Harry was left with his aunt and uncle and they hated even the thought of magic. I watched them a few times when I realized Harry could see me, and they wouldn't even let their own son speak of anything magical. His aunt threw a real fit when it was even mentioned. I think it was because Harry's mother was a witch."

"What sort of people wouldn't let a child believe in magic?" asked Bunny.

"Like I said, I have no idea why they hate magic. As far as I'm aware, Harry's never once received a present from you, or an egg from you," said Jack, looking at North and Bunny respectively.

"But I give all good children presents. Why did he not get one?"

"My guess is they gave it to his cousin. They didn't really like him much. Anyway, I fail to see what I could do to make him believe in you. He only believed in me because I helped cheer him up whenever his 'family' threw him out in the middle of winter. Once I even froze them inside the house so he could stay away from them."

"How will we get him to believe?" asked North.

"No idea. He's heard of you but he doesn't believe you exist, and it's going to take a _lot_ to get him to even start. I don't mind acting as translator, since he's a good friend of mine, but I really don't expect much aside from that."

* * *

"Hey Black!" said Jack.

"Hey Frosty! Did you freeze his boxers?" grinned Harry.

"Yup. You should have heard his ranting! Anyway, I didn't stop for a social visit."

"What's up?"

"Remember that abandoned factory Grim dropped you off at?"

"...Why?"

"Well, it's not actually abandoned."

"Why's the gold guy here? He was the only one there aside from the Yetis and the elves."

"He's the Sandman."

"Seriously? Cool."

"Yeah, North, Kangaroo and the Tooth Fairy weren't happy when they realized you couldn't see them."

"Why should I care? They were never there when I needed them."

"I know it and you know it, but they're pretty miffed that you can't see or hear them."

"Guess now they know what you feel like every winter then," said Harry with a smirk.

Jack laughed. The only Guardian there was Sandman, since they wanted to know whether the new Master of Death was willing to meet them or not.

As the two caught up with the times, Sandy got a good feel for Harry Black. He was a nice person, he just happened to be jaded because he didn't have much joy in his life. The real problem was that because he was jaded, it would take something extraordinary in order to get him to believe in North and the others.

* * *

_Five years later..._

Out of all the Guardians, there was one that never showed up to the regular meetings. This wasn't because he was disliked. It was because he couldn't make it to the regular meeting place.

The one called Harry never came to the meetings. So the Guardians just continued as before, since it didn't really matter. Grim never came either, even though he could come and go as he pleased.

It was three days before Easter, and North felt something bad approaching.

Still, he didn't think it meant much...until Grim showed up looking annoyed.

"**You complained that my avatar can't see you, yet I have not seen any efforts to prove you want him to see you."**

"Grim! Long time no see! What brings you to pole?"

"**Pitch is coming back. And the last thing I want is to hear Easter's complaints that my avatar didn't do his part because you were too lazy to try and get to know him better."**

"Pitch? He is coming back?" said North in surprise. Suddenly the door opened revealing a Yeti.

Grim hid in the shadows as North argued with the yetis about the globe. Suddenly it was encased in black sand which he recognized right off.

Nightmare sand. He had only seen it occasionally, but he wasn't expecting Pitch to find a way to control it. This explained quite a bit.

North didn't hesitate. He called the Guardians...including the cranky Master of Death. Grim would make sure he got there. When, however, was entirely optional.

* * *

Grim wasn't the least bit surprised Jack was chosen as the new Guardian. There had to be some reason he got along with Harry so well.

"I take it back, Groundhog's fine," said Bunny.

"**I think he would be a great Guardian. After all, I've seen him play with children and despite all the mischief he causes he has never hurt them."**

"But he doesn't care about the children! All he ever does is freeze pipes and mess up my egg hunts!" complained Bunny.

"**Bunny, you just hate him because of what happened in '68. Jack Frost cares more about children than you think, right Sandman?"**

The silent Guardian nodded emphatically. He had seen Jack around, and not once had he ever harmed a child. Sure, he might freeze them to poles or to ice from water fountains occasionally, but he had never really harmed one.

At that point it was a discussion on how to bring him to the Workshop to initiate him.

* * *

Harry was at that moment, with the playful Jack Frost. He was grinning as he watched the children play in Jack's snow, which was one of the few good memories he had.

He had been able to see Jack since he was five, but he never really interacted with him until he was eight. So he generally got kicked out of the house every winter so he could hang out with Jack. It was through him that he met the Sandman, but since he wasn't on good terms with North or Bunny, he never meet them.

Tooth, however, was so silly that he only ever heard of her through the fairies.

_**'Harry, we have a situation. Come to the (chuckle) abandoned workshop I brought you to at your own convenience. Oh, and if possible bring Jack with you?'**_

Harry snorted. No way was he going there unless someone dragged him.

He grinned and started lobbing a few snow balls at Jack, who smirked and started a free-for-all. He even hit a rather heavy-set girl who was building a snow man with a frown on its face. She didn't look very happy about the snow down her collar. Though he did wonder who would name a kid Cupcake. Soon the girl was chasing the others with the snowman's head above her. Jack's magic could get anyone to laugh.

Then he noted the direction Jack was heading and called out a warning.

"Jack you idiot, that's the street!" he hissed.

Jack paid no mind and instead guided the sled on the street and into a snow bank where the kid crashed.

Then it all went downhill when the kid got hit by a couch. Poor Jack was miffed when the kid didn't even notice him. Harry walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll always have me old chum," said Harry.

"I know, it just sucks not being seen by the children..." complained Jack.

"At least you don't have to go to an abandoned factory in the middle of the ice," complained Harry.

"You have to go to the Workshop? Take me with you!"

"I would, but I doubt you'd have much fun in...well, I take that back you'd probably have more fun than I would in the middle of all that ice."

Jack grinned at him.

"But first, Butterbeer!" said Harry cheerfully.

He had introduced Jack to the drink years ago, and the spirit had loved it. Though that wasn't nearly as entertaining as what happened when he got Jack drunk on Fire Whiskey. The blizzard Jack caused with his hiccups was funny to watch.

The Spirit of Winter was a very fun drunk. It was a good thing they were on Everest at the time.

* * *

Jack was drinking his butterbeer while he listened to Jamie (the kid he took on a ride with his ice) describe the incident to his mother. He was sitting on a broom Harry had gotten him years ago as a joke, though it was nice to be able to sit and not worry about falling if he lost control of his powers.

"See? He does appreciate your work. It's not his fault people don't realize you're real," said Harry patting his back.

"I know, it's just..."

"Frustrating? Imagine how the Guardians will feel when I finally go up there? Grim even told me to bring you with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said to take my time," said Harry with a shrug.

Jack finished his bottle and tossed it to Harry who vanished it.

"Want a frog?"

"Hit me," said Jack. Then he realized what he just said and winced when Harry playfully punched him in the shoulder. The two of them were like brothers in that they always played pranks on each other.

"What was that?" asked Harry.

Jack turned and saw something run past them. The two went after it, since things that ran in shadows were rarely good.

"Hello, Mate. Been a long time. Blizzard of '68 I believe. Easter Sunday, wasn't it?" said a voice from the shadow.

"Bunny! You're not still mad about that are you?" asked Jack.

"Jack, who is it?" asked Harry, his staff still crackling with magic.

"It's the Easter Kangaroo," said Jack flatly.

"It's Easter Bunny, you idiot!" growled Bunny.

"Really? Because you look more like a Kangaroo from where I'm standing," quipped Jack.

Bunny growled, then remembered he was there for another reason. He could beat Jack black and blue when Pitch was dealt with.

"What do you want Rabbit?" asked Harry. He trusted Jack to translate.

"We need you two at the Pole. Whether you like it or not," said Bunny.

Jack winced. Harry _hated_ being forced to do something he didn't want to, and trying to make him always ended badly...for everyone else.

Suddenly the two of them were grabbed by a pair of yetis and tossed into a sack. Harry was cursing the air blue and Jack was half a minute away from joining him.

The yeti tossed a snow globe and looked at Bunny.

"Me? Not on your nelly. See you back at the Pole," said Bunny, stomping twice to bring out his tunnels.

And like that they were gone.


	15. Akatsuki's Miracle Chapter One

It all started because a certain Akatsuki member wanted to take their vacation to the forbidden zone. Well, forbidden to shinobi with any sense at any rate.

Konan, however, was classed as a monster by most and not just for her crimes. Hence why she could walk right through the island and the outlying countries and no one would call her on the fact that most shinobi hadn't stepped foot there in nearly a century.

Kakuzu had bitched and moaned about how much it was going to cost him if she left, seeing as how she was one of the few who kept Zetsu and Deidara in line aside from the leader who only did it if the noise level got too high. She ignored all his complaints after she made sure to make it clear that if he didn't shut up she would rip all his hearts out and after ruining them feed them to the cannibal.

The old shinobi wisely shut his trap and went back to grumbling about finances.

Konan was decidedly unimpressed with England. It had been labeled the forbidden zone by all five great nations, though no one had asked why after fifty years.

It was the very start of November, so the wind had a slight chill to it. As she walked past a horrifying neighborhood, her shinobi senses picked up something that would change the fate of more than just her and the source.

A child was crying in the middle of the night...and it wasn't muffled by walls.

She frowned, and adjusted her course. The moment she found the source of the noise, she stared.

"Who the hell leaves infants on a doorstep in the middle of the night? I mean isn't that a little cliché?" she asked herself. She picked up the child, who calmed down once a source of warmth was found and stared at her with the most vivid green eyes she had ever seen.

She smiled, and the tiny infant gurgled at her. He wasn't afraid of the fact that an S-class criminal and practical monster was holding him.

Noting the odd letter, she read it after pausing a moment. Her romanji were a bit rusty. The more she read the more she scowled.

Someone had left this infant deliberately and made it pretty clear that even if the owners of the home didn't want the kid, they weren't allowed to get rid of him.

So she took the child with her, deeming the idea of leaving a small child near a forested area and in the middle of fall alone too idiotic for words. Whoever had come up with this plan needed to get their brain checked...before she skewered them.

* * *

Pein looked at his long time friend and second in command in disbelief. Just when he thought Konan was the sanest member of the group, she goes and does this.

"Let me get this straight. You went on vacation...and decided to bring back an infant?" he said in absolute disbelief.

"_The kid was lying on a doorstep in the middle of fall in a place where it rains so heavily I may as well be back home," _she said flatly through the jutsu.

"Seriously? Who the hell leaves kids on doorsteps aside from young mothers?" asked Pein in surprise.

"_I don't know, but if I ever find them they will be lucky to be part of Zetsu's special treats. For kami's sake, the kid was barely wrapped in a thin blanket in a basket! The place was near dense woods and wolves were nearby. I could actually hear them!"_

"Okay, you can bring him back. How do you know the kid is an orphan though?"

"_Whoever left him there also put a letter in the basket. Apparently his parents were just killed by a mass murderer and the house belonged to his mother's sister. I did observe the house briefly, but after half an hour into their activity I could tell they weren't parenting material."_

"When are you coming back with the new...addition?" he asked carefully.

"_Give me a few days to sort out some things, and I'll be back in a week at most."_

"Fine. Think you could bring back some headache relievers?"

"_Sure."_

* * *

Konan turned off her jutsu and then prepared to head into the bank. Some odd creature had noticed _who_ she was adopting and had directed her to the place.

"Hello miss. Can I help you?"

"I need some adoption papers," she said flatly.

The goblin gave her an interesting look. She wasn't a witch, that much was obvious. However she wasn't a muggle either. Upon closer inspection (and noticing her kunai in the pouch) he finally figured out what she was.

"Ah. Would you mind explaining why a shinobi is here? Last I heard your leaders decided this place was forbidden because of the Dark Lord wannabes running amok."

"I'm on vacation and found a child abandoned. Someone directed me here when I mentioned adoption."

"Is the child here?"

She lifted the infant with ease, who was curling up to the stuffed toy she had got him. Stealing from this place was pathetically easy, despite the technology.

The goblins eyes widened and he cursed in goblin. Mere moments later another came and took her to the appropriate room.

"How did you find him?" he asked seriously.

Konan rolled her eyes.

"Some complete and utter moron left him in nothing but a wicker basket and a thin blanket on a doorstep in the middle of fall in an area that rains heavily during this season. The _family_ and I use that term in the most insincere form possible, are not fit to be parents of their own child let alone that of a relative," she answered deadpan.

The goblin chuckled darkly.

"Who knew the shinobi from the Hidden Continents would be the ones to foil that man's plans for the boy? We knew something was up when he insured the parent's last will wasn't read and absconded with the child a mere hour before his godfather went off the grid..."

"Who is his godfather and how can I contact him?"

"I'm afraid you can't, unless you want to deal with the Ministry idiots. He snapped and went after the real traitor, only to get framed by the man at the last second. He's currently in Ministry custody awaiting trial. Chances are they won't even bother with that because of his family."

"Can you give him a message?"

"We could possibly have it dropped should he be released or sent to Azkaban."

"Tell him if he wants to find the kid later, then he needs to make his way to Amegakure in the Elemental Countries. In the meantime, about those papers?"

An hour later (with the help of the goblins and a translation charm) Konan left with three things.

One was her new son Kiseki. Two was the fact that she had unwittingly found a way to shut Kakuzu up for the foreseeable future about expenses on her end. Three was a permanent portkey to the bank which would deliver her there immediately with at least ten others should the need arise.

Konan wasn't a fool. In case the plan Pein had went into a total FUBAR mode, they would need an escape plan ready. And as far as she knew, the plan would encompass both worlds, even if the other was in a completely indirect manner that couldn't be traced back to them.

* * *

The moment Konan returned, she knew that it was going to be one of those days.

Zetsu was terrorizing the prison population, (Ame's stance on crime was rather simple. If you're stupid enough to get caught, then you're fair game to the man-eating plant ninja. It was a rather effective way of getting people to avoiding getting caught.) Deidara was about ready to blow the base up for the umptenth time over something Hidan or Sasori said, and Hidan was trying and failing to convert others to his religion.

Konan frowned. If she caught that insane priest trying to convert her kid, he would find himself without a head and left to deal with Deidara's explosives shoved up his ass.

As soon as someone _finally_ noticed her return (her chakra was set to the seals so she never set off the alarms around Ame) Pein quickly went to meet her.

Itachi was the one who spotted her, and he was the only one to bring her some aspirin. There was a reason she liked him better than she did some of the other members.

As soon as Pein took the kid into his office (which was layered with so many silence seals that you could set off one of Deidara's special explosives and no one would hear it. They knew, because they checked twice.) Konan went to work.

_Three hours and a lot of alcohol for Konan later..._

Deidara stared at the infant in the basket. Konan had stolen something more easy to carry a few days after the adoption went through.

Because England's current Dark Lord had just been killed, no one even noticed the paperwork. Most people were too busy dealing with hangovers at the time.

When he let the kid touch his hands, the kid giggled as the tongues licked him.

"I like this kid, un."

Itachi just stared. If he didn't know any better, he would swear Konan adopted a missing Uchiha. The hair and skin tone certainly matched up, though the eyes were far too green.

Each of the Akatsuki crowded around the new baby. Some with vastly different opinions on the matter.

"SWEET! I get to convert a kid! Just imagine how much damage he can do in the name of Jashin!" crowed Hidan.

Konan slapped him upside the head with a tick mark on her face.

"If I ever catch you trying to teach him Jashinism behind my back, I will shove so many of Deidara's explosives up your ass that it will take weeks for you to reform, if you do at all."

Deidara grinned at that.

Konan looked at each of them in turn.

"Deidara, I don't mind you sharing your views on 'art, but please do it in moderation. We don't need another explosive happy idiot. Sasori, if I ever catch you trying to turn him into one of your puppets I will take all of your collection and give them to Kakuzu to sell to Suna. Zetsu, if you ever try to eat him I will spray you with so much weed killer that you'll be sick for weeks, and you will clean up the resulting mess. Pein, no piercings until he's at least thirteen. Kisame, if I ever find out that you scared him of water I will shove Samehada up your ass. Itachi...no genjutsu. And as for you Kakuzu...no trying to sign over the kid's inheritance or you will deal with the people who control the bank it's in."

"What kind of threat is that?" asked Kakuzu.

"The people who control the bank have assured me that the kid's inheritance is in a series of vaults so far apart that it will literally take forever to get to it without their help, and it's in a veritable maze that will piss you off to no end. And I know you hate dealing with mazes, so if you try to steal it you will have to find it on your own."

Kakuzu scowled, but admitted it was a viable threat.

"You can however, show the kid how to do math and learn how to handle his finances."

That brightened up his day.

Once Konan laid the ground rules, the change had begun. It was subtle, but it was there.

By the time the kid was old enough to read, he was being trained as a ninja.

Itachi covered the genjutsu part, considering he was the best at it. Deidara taught the kid how to make bombs. Sasori taught him puppetry. Kakuzu covered elemental jutsu and financing. Hidan taught him how to use weapons, mainly the scythe. (He also taught little Kiseki most of the curse words he knew, to Konan's annoyance.) Zetsu taught him about plants, and what was edible to normal people and what wasn't. Konan taught him how to read, write and origami. Pein taught him taijutsu and how to fight multiple enemies at once. Kisame however, taught him how to use a sword and how to swim.

By the time Kiseki was on his first genin team, he was almost jounin level in power. His chakra control was so fine tuned that he could give Tsunade of the Sannin a run for her money. As a result, he learned medical ninjutsu rather quickly for his age.

* * *

"GET BACK HERE!" roared Kisame.

Kiseki snickered as he dodged Kisame's sword. He had nailed the shark ninja with a rather potent paint and stink bomb trap, and he had walked right through it.

His mother Konan spotted him running and then saw Kisame.

"You know he's going to get you back in training right?" she said amused. Her son was a little hellion and pranked anyone he could. Even Pein had been hit, though Kiseki usually only set an explosive tag on the paperwork.

To be fair though he only did that when the demon that was paperwork got too big for him to handle. Not that Pein ever mentioned it, but the fact that he allowed Kiseki to look through his catalog of tattoos and piercings told Kiseki how much he didn't care.

(Konan had reset the age from thirteen to ten. Mostly because when Kiseki used his puppy dog eyes she was almost literally wrapped around his little finger. He still had yet to decide what he wanted for his first ear piercing.)

"Like it matters! He kicks my ass anyway! This just gets him good and properly ready for it!" cackled Kiseki.

"Just don't piss him off so much that you can't take the newest B- rank that came in an hour ago. _He_ saved it up for you," she said.

To the great shock of the Akatsuki, Konan was actually a great mother. Then again most of the Akatsuki were really little kids who threw a ton of tantrums and could destroy entire hidden villages when they got worked up, so it wasn't that big of a surprise. Fortunately for her sanity, Kiseki was a rather good kid, and a hell of a lot more quiet than the other Akatsuki barring Itachi.

For some reason the two of them just clicked, which was why Itachi was often convinced to babysit him when he was younger. Konan suspected it was because Kiseki reminded him of the younger brother he spared, or because it was almost painfully clear early on that Kiseki was a prodigy like Itachi and Sasori were.

"Hey Kaa-san, can I join the chunin exams this year?"

It was the same question he asked every six months since he became genin. And every time she told him no. However this year was different. Rumors had been going around that Sand had joined with an unknown village called Sound...and that their old friend Orochimaru was preparing an invasion.

Her little Kiseki was barely eleven, and he would have his birthday during the exams.

"Tell you what. If you can complete that B-rank he saved for you without getting too hurt to take the exams, I'll consider it."

"Really?! Whoohoo!" Kiseki cheered.

Kisame and Itachi were heading that way anyway, to check up on Sasuke and see if they could capture the nine tails early. Not that Kiseki knew of that.

"So what did she say?" asked Rei.

"She said if we complete the B rank he set aside for us, and aren't too injured afterwords she'll think about it!" he said happily.

"YES! FINALLY!" cheered his teammates.

For the past two years since becoming a genin team, Kiseki's mother had told him that they weren't allowed to go to the chunin exams. To be fair, they did get personal training from the Akatsuki in exchange, but it still annoyed them.

Kiseki, Rei and Inari got ready for their new mission. Their sensei, Mamoru Chiba, watched them with amusement.


	16. Some Hearts Chapter One

_**This is an HP Avengers story. The title is actually based on a Carrie Underwood song called "Some Hearts." Also, in the last chapter I would like to clarify that the Mamoru Chiba is NOT from Sailor Moon. It was just the first name that came to mind.**_

* * *

Broken. That was one of the many words to describe the so called savior of the wizarding communities. And many blamed the Ministry for doing it, claiming her power had gotten too strong.

It never even _occurred_ to them that maybe she just wanted to be left alone to grieve and move on with her life.

And to make matter worse they had quite firmly bound her to a man she hated with a passion, Draco Malfoy. They claimed to be protected the Black bloodlines.

Inbreed filth.

The last time her 'friend' Hermione saw her out and about, the girl had stared. She had known her former best friend had taken the sealing hard, but this? This was far worse than she could stand to see.

Robin Potter-Black (she refused to take Draco's last name) looked and acted like a living inferi. She was practically skin and bones, and ribs could be seen under her many-times-too big shirt. Her skin was sallow and yellowed, and her brilliant red hair, which she once took such good care of while in school, was lanky and matted.

But it was her demeanor which set the tone. She was meek and subservient, often flinching if people came too close or even looked like they were about to hit her.

All of it screamed domestic abuse. About the only thing presentable about the former witch were her clothes...but that could be accredited to the fact Draco picked them and had the house elves dress her.

House elves. They had been more active of late, ever since the first sealing of Robin. In fact if one were to pay attention they would say they were quietly rebelling.

One by one, the number of bound elves were dropping like a rock. But because no one bothered to look or hell, even do a census of who owned which elf, the pure bloods were oblivious.

The pure bloods kept giving elves laundry, and thinking that they still owned more, completely unaware that they had released their servants. That if given the right signal, would leave them bereft of anyone to cook, clean or order around.

And they weren't the only ones. Werewolves, hags, Veela, centaurs...all those subjugated by the wizards were in quiet revolt against them, merely waiting for the signal to take the fight to them.

All because they sealed away the one witch of an old line who dared to treat every equally. The so called 'Master (or Mistress) of Death'.

Still didn't save her when they caught her after the battle of Hogwarts and sealed almost all of her magic away, leaving her barely a squib. They couldn't take the Hallows, those vanished within seconds of her capture, but they could take her magic.

Or so they thought. All they knew was that she was weakened greatly and her magic bound so tightly that it barely came out anymore. No one considered the fact that such a thing might eventually build up inside her and kill her explosively unless it was being drained regularly enough to keep it stable.

Had they thought of that, they might have been able to stop what was to happen a few days after she finally managed to escape Britain.

Draco had a meeting with one of the magical agencies from America and he took his 'trophy wife' with him. While she wasn't beautiful to the eye, she was still the defeater of the worst Dark Lord since Dumbledore defeated his former lover. Having her on his arm, even in her state, was enough to impress even the most idiotic of people.

However all that changed in an instant the second a piece of skyscraper fell on him and crushed him to paste.

* * *

Robin watched the death of her 'husband' dispassionately. His death freed her from one shackle, but not the rest. That would take time and more importantly a little help from her patron goddess.

Hel was a bitch to serve, but she at least agreed that the binding of her powers was _not_ acceptable for her newest avatar. Hence the meeting with the random government agency where her presence was all but demanded. It got her to a point where a little nudge from a goddess could cause Draco's death and free her from a few of the bindings...like the perimeter ward that only lifted if Draco allowed it.

Fortunately when she 'let herself go', Draco became so disgusted that he let her do whatever she wanted so long as he didn't have to look at the formerly proud Gryffindor. If she wanted to deal with werewolves and the other non-human species, then he could care less.

He didn't notice or care that bit by bit, her magic was being drained steadily.

_**I have given you the opening you asked for. Do not disappoint me.**_

**As you command, my Lady.**

Being in the service of Hel, the Norse goddess of death, wasn't nearly as bad as one would think. Robin accepted the new status as Hel's Avatar among the living, because she had accepted one simple fact years ago.

Death is a part of Life. You can't have one without the other. Because of that, the Hallows accepted her as their master and didn't curse her like the previous fools who sought to use their power.

Robin knew she had a limited amount of time to pull this off. She went into one of the abandoned apartments, her cloak hiding her from the fighters and police alike.

Taking a quick shower (her first one in months) she cut off what was left of her hair. All that was left now was short fuzz. She washed off the saffron she had placed on her skin to make it sallow. Yellow coloring washed down the drain...she felt sorry for whoever had to clean the trap out. She ditched her over-sized shirt and pants...they were bought by Narcissa in exchange for being among those spared when the Purge hit.

Never cross a Black. While Narcissa hated that Draco had to die, even she knew the boy was too much like his father to live. Besides, the boy had never acted like a true Black in his life.

She found some clothes waiting for her when she got out of the shower. Hel wanted her avatar to look presentable when she ran. She donned the long white dress and shoes meant for running without question.

She left the apartment and headed to the park, where the fighting had yet to hit. According to Hel, it was the best place to use the Tesseract to return to Asgard.

She had to time the execution perfectly, or she would be dropped off on some random planet she had never heard of...or worse, Jotenhiem.

Fortunately her phoenix form, which she had perfected before being sealed (she was now stuck as a rather pissy songbird who enjoyed forcing Draco awake before four in the bloody morning...and not once did he ever manage to hit her with a curse. Oh how Narcissa had laughed her ass off when she found the source of his cursing) could handle the ride of the bifrost.

The trick was to latch on at the last possible second to hitch a ride off Earth.

* * *

Loki gave his grip on the Tesseract a speculative glance. He could have sworn he felt some sort of bird latch on to the free spot on his end at the last second. But he didn't see anything grab on...until they reached Asgard when a phoenix of all things appeared behind him without warning.

Heimdall and Thor were very surprised. Loki wasn't, he had felt those claws all the way there while traveling via the Bifrost. Still, he did enjoy the look of absolute shock at the sight of the bird.

Suddenly Heimdall turned back to Earth, his gaze widening exponentially.

"Something has happened."

"Not an attack?" asked Thor worriedly.

"Not on your end, no. It feels as though a massive amount of magic has been removed from the Earth. I can no longer see the dragons, unicorns or any other magical creature. It's as if they vanished."

"Father must be told."

"But first we must insure your brother stays put..."

Loki rolled his eyes, and he could have sworn the phoenix who had hitched a ride was laughing at the other two.

Something told him that the next few months were going to be far more entertaining than he could have hoped.

Odin, it turned out, was not happy. Like Heimdall had sensed, all the magical creatures (particularly in Britain for some reason) had vanished the second Thor and Loki touched down in Asgard with the jewel of Odin's treasure room.

And the magicals were obviously in a state of panic. The fact that a few of said magical blood went missing as well, along with a castle, a good portion of a forest, a joke shop and the bank in Britain had yet to become news.

And watching the entire thing from where Heimdall normally stood was a phoenix, laughing at it all.

The Marauders would be so proud!

It wouldn't be a week for the full scope of the vanishing to hit the magicals, and by that time someone finally noticed that a certain girl was missing and while her husband remained paste on a sidewalk in New York.

It would take them a full month to finally realize that maybe her escape and the missing people/animals/places had something in common. And even then it wasn't until her former best friend _pointed_ that fact out for everyone.

* * *

Loki was in his room, and he wasn't allowed to leave the palace or go farther than the gardens for at least a year and a day. Normally this wouldn't be too bad, except he was bored. And this generally did one of two things.

Either got him to raid the library, again, for the thousandth time, or prank someone.

And with the mood he was in, it was more likely to be the latter which would remove said problem. Sadly Odin would most likely be upset and he would be in even more trouble than he was right now.

So he sat down and tried to find a book to entertain him for a while.

Only to get up and look for the source of that damn song bird. It wouldn't shut up!

Eventually he found it...and stared. He knew for a fact there weren't any robins or ordinary birds in Asgard. They tended to get eaten. Or fried by Thor for waking him up. Morning and Thor didn't mix well...then again neither did Loki's wake up pranks and Thor. Last time he nearly got a black eye courtesy of that oversized hammer for the ice water trick.

The bird looked back at him, amused, before flying off.

At least the singing had stopped.

Loki awoke to find himself in Hel's realm.

"**Hello Father."**

"Hel. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"**I wanted you to meet my Avatar. She's in Asgard right now and I would prefer it if Thor didn't fry her like the song birds."**

Loki looked at the figure beside his daughter. It was the phoenix who had hitched a ride at the last second. It burst into flames and became...the irritating song bird from earlier.

"Why is your avatar in Asgard? Shouldn't she be on Earth?"

"**The humans tried to seal her away. The only way to break most of her bindings was to have her go with you. Coincidentally she did do something rather amusing to the humans."**

"And what's that?"

"**She took their magical creatures away. And a castle, forest, bank, and a joke shop."**

Loki stared.

"This girl was the one responsible for the chaos in the magical communities?" he asked.

"**With a little help from me of course. She presented a convincing argument that even Odin can't refute. Just wait until you see what she does when she goes _back_."**

"Considering how bored I am, I'm all ears."

The song bird turned into a woman. She didn't look like the healthiest specimen and her features were blurred. Which was somewhat odd. All he could tell was that she had red hair and green eyes.

"_I plan to move the scheduled magic cleansing a few centuries. Instead of it recycling the magic in three hundred years, I'll reclaim it and have the magic come back in three generations...just long enough for those arrogant bastards to get my message."_

"And what message is that?"

"_Don't mess with a Black."_

"Isn't the current generation so dependent on magic that most don't even bother to do mundane tasks and neglect their normal education?" asked Loki. He could see where this was going, and he liked it.

"_Extremely. I know a family who's matriarch is so dependent on magic that she has it knit jumpers, do the dishes, laundry and summons things...and she has the voice of a damn harpy."_

Loki laughed, his voice with a bell like chime. He could grow to like this current 'Master of Death'. She had style and a sense of humor he could get behind! Not like the previous one who bored both father and daughter to tears.

"**Now for the second reason I brought you here... We need your assistance in getting these bindings off, or at least making the chain that much longer."**

Loki was all ears. As Hel described the bindings in question, his frown deepened. Apparently the wizards were so afraid of the current Avatar that the forced a perimeter spell on her, one that was set to another person. Because of her nature, Hel couldn't put one on the girl.

However since she was in Asgard, he could bind the girl to him and give her free reign. It would loosen enough of the bindings to destroy the choke hold that the wizards put her in.

Considering she just provided free entertainment in the form of some jumped up magical descendant's suffering, he was more than happy to help. Maybe she could alleviate his boredom while they were at it.

* * *

Loki was trying hard _not_ to laugh as the mystery phoenix (not so mysterious to him since he was introduced) let loose what appeared to be a water balloon on Thor...and it just so happened to have a color changing potion in it. Thor's hair was neon pink for a week. Best of all was that no one could pin it on Loki since half the time he was in his room reading. Apparently the castle that Hel relocated happened to be the Hogwarts castle, and the Ministry was still trying to find it and the forest. According to Hel, the centaurs were rather pleased with the new world she put them on.

Plus they didn't have to deal with the acromantula colony anymore, which really made them happy.

His only complaint was that the girl insisted on reading over his shoulder.

At least she didn't sing right next to his ear. Plus the look on Thor's face when he realized that yes, the bird he just fried for singing at four in the morning was in fact still alive and would just not _shut up_.

Loki gave her little treats for doing it while the idiot was hung over. She had an interestingly high pitch which just sent waves of pain in his head.

Loki rather enjoyed it for one reason. It tended to make Thor crash into things.

Plus she had a nice voice. Too bad Hel never told him the girl's name.

* * *

Hel laughed as she watched the little bouts of chaos her avatar had caused in her name. She, like Loki, enjoyed a good laugh at other's expense.

One of her favorite things to do was watch the Ministry tie itself into tangles trying to find the school before September. The loss of the Forbidden Forest didn't bother them nearly as much as losing an entire castle. No one noticed the missing joke shop, with the twins inside along with their rather bubbly assistant. Or the fact that Narcissa, Andromeda or the Longbottom family were gone completely. Hell, no one even noticed that the merfolk in the Black Lake were gone.

Then there was the chaos Robin caused in Asgard. It was good to see her father laugh like that again. He normally didn't bother with lighthearted pranks, since he had a bit of a problem with Thor's childish behavior.

However seeing said god as a female cracked them up.

At this point she couldn't wait for Loki to finally fall for her avatar's human form, break the bindings, and return to Earth to perform a ritual that most Magicals forgot happened regularly every half millennium or so. The one where magic was at it's lowest point and the rate of squibs tended to jump.

Generally it caused the fall of magical societies, like Atlantis and Camelot.


	17. Some Hearts Chapter Two

Loki had grown used to the bird's presence. It was now an odd sight to find him without either the phoenix or the robin on his shoulder. She (and there was little doubt the bird was female) would listen to people sing and once she heard it all the way through once, copied the music precisely. Sometimes her trilling was something they had never heard before, but was rather catchy.

Finally Loki came up with a name for her bird form. Twilight. Her feathers were all the colors of the rainbow, which on Earth was like the sun setting or rising on any given day with the multitude of colors that coalesced into a glorious banner. The girl-turned-phoenix liked her new nickname, since it was by far more flattering than anything the magical communities would have given her.

If her songs seemed a little more brighter, well, the people of Asgard weren't going to comment.

Loki sat in his corner of the library and didn't pay any note to the fact that Twilight was singing again. Her phoenix song was actually quite soothing, more than he would have believed. Unlike everyone else, he could hear her words along with the song's rhythm.

"_The dancing snowflakes are fragments of stars_

_Reaching out towards the heavens_

_I can feel my wishes as they come and go_

_Everything is now in monochrome_

_The white breath spilling softly from my lips_

_Is shaped like words I want to convey_

_It must be the warmth that's making the sky grow faintly lighter_

_Our wings are drenched in shared sorrow_

_Turning pure white as they overlap_

_And becoming a gentle courage for the future we passed to each other_

_The beating of my heart as I wait for the dawn of an unknown world_

_A new tomorrow that begins as I depart with the first rays of light_

_The dancing snowflakes are fragments of stars_

_Reaching out towards the heavens_

_I can feel my wishes as they come and go_

_Everything is now in monochrome."_

_(The song that plays right before the mecha fight in _Star Driver_.)_

Loki looked up from his book.

"Interesting song."

_'I heard it from something I saw on Earth. Malfoy never cared what I did so long as he didn't have to see me. The filth should have known better than to attempt to force himself on me with his mother nearby.'_

"I still don't understand why his own mother turned against him."

_'Blacks follow a very good rule. If someone is stronger than you and isn't a complete idiot, then become allies with them...or kill them if possible. Narcissa knew I was the head of the Black, and as a blood member of the family she was blood bound to uphold my honor. Even if it meant turning against her own son. According to her, Draco was far too much like his father to be a proper Black anyway.'_

"A pity I never got a chance to deal with this Draco. He sounds like the kind of person I would enjoy...playing...with."

Twilight's amused trill got his attention.

_'You did kill him. Hel used one of your missed staff blasts to cause a piece of skyscraper to turn him into a mess on the road. It was because of your attack that I was freed from that nightmare.'_

"And yet you won't let me see what you really look like," complained Loki.

_'I am still regaining my full strength. It takes at least three months for a human to return to proper weight after deliberately starving themselves for over a year. However, you will be the first to see what I truly look like.'_

"I look forward to that. Know any other songs?"

_'Hmm...I do have one with you specifically in mind.'_

Twilight took a breath before trilling in a rather unique beat.

"_Walking along the animal path_

_Roaring with the lions and tigers_

_Paradise lying far across a sky dyed red_

_To a youth wandering imprisoned in loneliness_

_Are weakness and hatred shapeless enemies?_

_Oh Father, I am still..._

_Learning who I am_

_As I pursue backs I no longer see_

_Of elder brothers who have gone before me_

_In the night I spend lost_

_The morning star beckons me_

_This will not end in my death_

_I long for my dream_

_My faith in you sustains my life_

_In the windswept wilderness_

_Living with the butterflies and flowers_

_Blooming together in a mirage of eternal spring_

_If my purity of spirit seems muddled_

_And my body filthy_

_Please believe in the finery within my heart_

_Oh mother, I will show no tears..._

_The vanish like..._

_The dew in the grass beneath my feet."_

(Ending to _Code Geass:Lelouch of the Rebellion._)

Loki's breath caught at the words. He could see why she immediately thought of him whenever she sang that song. It fit him far too well.

* * *

Unknown to the two, Odin could hear the words as well as Loki could. He knew very well the girl was the new Mistress of Death, Hel's Avatar in the mortal realm.

Under normal circumstances he would have kicked her out and onto the bifrost when he found out what she was. However a few things stayed his hand.

Her relationship with Loki, while odd, did work wonders for his temperament. He had yet to slip back into familiar patterns of hidden resentment towards his family. Her singing soothed his spirit in ways Odin hadn't thought possible.

She had yet to do anything to draw attention to herself, aside from acting as the resident song bird, to Thor's annoyance. However only those who suffered from frequent hangovers from overindulging in their drink hated her singing.

She was the unwanted child. Her blood kin wanted nothing to do with her heritage, her gift. Her only allies abandoned her once the task they forced upon her was done. The only ones she could trust were those who needed a champion. The girl had saved their miserable race and they had betrayed her when all she wanted was to be left in peace.

The girl known as Robin Black had come to Asgard in search of sanctuary and freedom from bindings unjustly placed on her. The fact that the only way to break nearly all of them was through a union with someone who possessed a magical core to either rival or eclipsed her own was never told to her.

He could see what Hel's plan was for the girl. In order for Robin to become what she was meant to be, she had to be freed. And since Hel wasn't a cruel goddess, she sent her avatar to Loki, the only one she could be reasonably assured would never betray the girl and could possibly come to love her.

* * *

Twilight was curious as to why Odin wanted her to sing for him. Still, she had nothing against the All-Father, so she sang her heart out.

It wasn't until she went retrieve her favorite apple that she nearly had a heart attack.

"I know what you are child. So long as you never show reason to throw you out, you may walk amongst us freely," he told her quietly. With all the clapping and the fact she was partially obscuring Odin, no one was aware he had said anything at all.

Still, with his permission, now she had few reasons not to show Loki what she truly looked like. She had been in bird form for nearly three long months.

Her hair had long since grown back to past her neck, which meant she needed to take a brush through it. She had no idea what the state of the dress she had been given was, or how clean she would be once she returned to being human.

If there was one thing she wanted, it was to be presentable to Loki when she showed him the truth.

* * *

Hel's voice led her to a room which no one used that had a bath. The wing was all but empty, and very few servants ever came that far in. today, it was completely barren of life.

Once she transformed, she heated up the water as hot as she could handle it, and disrobed. The first thing she did was wash her hair thoroughly. It had once been her mark of pride, to have long flowing crimson hair that was the color of flames. After being forced to be Draco's 'wife', she had allowed it to become as dirty as it had been while she lived with her 'Aunt'.

As far as she was concerned, she was never Draco's wife. She had never been asked for her agreement to the terms, and she had never given it. As such the marriage was a bigger farce than the Ministry's idea of equality for muggleborns.

Once she did that, she scrubbed her skin until it was bright pink, a thin cake of dirt coming off. While she had bathed in the waterfalls, it didn't clean her as well as soap and a good hard scrub could. It just took the edge off.

After insuring she was clean from tip to toe, she reached for a brush and attacked her hair with a fervor. Soon the tangled mess became like silk in her hands.

She looked for some clothes, only to discover, once again Hel had provided for her. This time her dress was something like the women she had seen around Asgard wear. Her sandals were something Sif would wear on her days off. The belt was a simple embroidered piece of leather.

All in all she looked like she belonged in Asgard and wouldn't draw suspicion on first glance, but not so much that it wasn't obvious she had power and knew how to use it properly. She wore that like Loki did his transformation ability.

Around her shoulders was the cloak that had been left to her by her father's family. The clasp had the Resurrection stone inside the traditional symbol for the Master of Death, a circle with a triangle and a thin line from the top of the triangle to the bottom. Loki already knew who she was, so there was no real reason to hide it from him.

In her hand was a staff, the full sized form of the Elder Wand. It reached just to her head and had a bit of a point at the top.

She debated whether to put her hair in a simple ponytail, but decided against it. It had been so long since her hair had fallen loosely around her neck that she wanted to savor it.

Now that she was properly clean and dressed, she transformed into her phoenix form and noted that the feathers were brighter than they had been in a long time. She flew off to find Loki.

* * *

Loki was in his room. And because of something the Warrior's Three had said about the fact he preferred a bird's company to others had annoyed him greatly, his wing was practically empty of life. Not even the servants wanted to deal with him at the moment.

Twilight appeared beside him, and he noted immediately that her feathers were much, much cleaner than usual. Not to mention smoother around the red areas.

"Did you take a bath or did someone finally invent a brush for you to use while looking like a bird?" he asked snarkily.

_'Keep acting that way and I will make you wait to see what I look like as a human,'_ she replied with cheek.

Loki sat up.

"So you finally worked up the nerve to show me?"

_'Actually Odin finally saw fit to inform me I was free to walk around as I please, so long as I don't do anything you would do to piss everyone off,'_ she clarified.

"So that's why he asked you to sing for him."

_'Do you want to see my real form or not?'_

"I've waited for three months. Let's see it then."

Twilight had no doubt he wanted to know if she was disfigured or not so he could mock her. He was in for a rude shock.

She shifted back into human form...and enjoyed his look of absolute shock at her appearance. She didn't look disfigured at all. A bit thin, but like she had told him before she had been recovering from a forced fast in order to keep her 'husband' from considering touching her.

He reached up to touch her crimson red hair in disbelief.

"I don't understand. If you looked this beautiful then why did you feel the need to hide?"

"And draw attention from Odin, or worse Thor? No thank you. I just wanted to be sure I was allowed to walk around before anyone knew what I really was."

"Considering the fact you are Hel's Avatar, that was probably a wise move. Well then, my Lady, would you do me the honor of one upping my brother when he brings Jane here?"

"It would be my pleasure, Loki," said Robin grinning. She liked Loki, if for no other reason than he had such amusing ideas.

Thor had left earlier that morning to locate Jane Foster and bring her to Asgard in hoped that Odin would approve of her. He knew Odin liked the woman already for getting Thor's head out of his ass, but it was a formality more than anything.

* * *

Robin hid under her cloak while Thor came to the throne room with Jane holding onto the horse for dear life. She was doing very well for someone who had never ridden a horse before.

Robin was waiting for Thor to introduce Jane to Odin. Once she had been given clearance to come to Asgard as she wished, Robin appeared beside Loki's side.

Loki was enjoying the look of shock and disbelief from the Warrior's Three and Thor. In a battle of appearance and looks, Robin beat Jane with ease.

Jane was a modern woman who lived on mass produced junk food and fried fats. Even the vegetables and fruits she ate had dressing on it. Her clothes were clearly given to her by one of the maids to appear presentable in Asgard and she wore it well it enough, but it was clear she wasn't used to them.

Robin was a maiden who wore clothes that fit, and she wore them with pride. Her hair was smooth like silk that ran down her neck onto her back in waves. Her regal look combined with little to no fat and a good amount of real muscle made her look like a fighter worthy of Sif's standards. She wore her hair in an elegant braid (Loki made her swear not to mention he was the one who pinned it up) that went around her head. Her emerald green eyes held a commanding presence that Jane's simply didn't. The silver cloak around her neck fitting with the ruby red stone gave her a mysterious look with magic backing her every move.

All in all, Robin was an Empress to Jane's Scholar. There was simply no comparison.

Loki watched with barely hidden glee as Robin swiftly turned into Twilight and sang a tune of welcome to Jane Foster. She even permitted the mortal woman to pet her regal plumage, which was something even Thor wasn't allowed to do. A quick glare to the demi-god was all that was required to keep his hands off.

During the party, Robin stayed near either Loki or Jane. The woman was relieved to see a fellow human there to chat with, and Robin showed real interest in her research. Loki looked positively giddy for having showing up his brother in a way even Odin couldn't fault him for.

The fact was that even Thor couldn't complain, since Twilight had never shown her human form until now, and she had the good grace to at least wait until Jane had been granted permission into Asgard to draw attention away from the obviously nervous woman. The fact Jane didn't hold it against Robin for taking everyone's eyes off her and the rather expensive clothes that she had never worn before and barely suited also meant Thor couldn't take it out on his brother. Not that he would.

There was also the fact that Jane was out of her league with the Asgard people, and the formerly British magus was a sight for sore eyes. At least with Robin she could hold her own and have an intelligent conversation with someone who didn't find her research 'cute' or 'quaint'.


	18. A Second Chance Chapter One

It was Harry's fourth day in Diagon since the incident with Marge. He had already gotten all his school supplies and a few books to read later, refilled his potions kit, gotten more treats for Hedwig, and he planned to refill his galleons at noon.

To be frank he was bored out of his damn mind!

So, when he went to refill his pockets, he decided to strike up a conversation with the goblin.

"Where _do_ goblins go to school anyway?"

The goblin, surprised by the question, actually answered him.

"We go to a private school called Youkai Academy. It's a place where monsters can go to get a degree without being bothered by humans. I've heard Witches sometimes go there as well instead of the bigger schools."

"...Can wizards apply as well?"

"Yes, but the earliest you could go is fifth year. It's a high school for non-humans after all. Why?"

"Does the Ministry regulate it?"

"Not as far as I'm aware. From what I've heard, they don't even acknowledge that it exists."

Harry thought about his options. After considering how much difficulty he had in Hogwarts, he decided to ask "Where do you sign up?"

The goblin blinked, then grinned.

"We can start your applications once we reach the surface. Though I would advise you to get caught up on your more muggle subjects. A degree in Youkai Academy is equivalent to a high school diploma in the human world."

Two hours later Harry had a list of books to study up on and a new card to buy things outside the magical alleys.

It would be two years before the repercussions of his talk with the goblin were felt.

* * *

_Harry's Fifth year, after the Tournament where Cedric Diggory lost his life..._

Harry looked at the calender. It had been a rough year, with all the suspicions and the betrayals. He would leave the magical world in a heart beat if he had the chance, but anywhere he went he knew Dumbledore's watchers would follow him to drag him back. Last year had been particularly hard, after watching Cedric die because of his stupid honor.

He almost didn't let the owl in when it arrived. He wasn't expecting any letter from Ron or Hermione, as the last had been particularly dry and uninformative. So when he opened up the letter, he nearly dropped it.

He had completely forgotten the conversation with the goblin. Hermione had wondered about his sudden interest in muggle subjects, but she had never really investigated it. After a while it was something Harry kept up out of a desire to escape from the magical world. Learning physics and calculus had been a boon from his fans and the school.

"_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_ As per your request two years ago, your application was sent and accepted to Youkai Academy. If you wish to continue your pursuit of leaving Hogwarts, please come to Gringotts no later than July 27th, where we will assist you in getting your new school supplies. If you cannot reach us before that date, let us know via owl so that we may provide you a port key._

_Sincerely Gringotts Bank."_

Harry didn't think twice, he grabbed a pen and a piece of parchment and wrote a quick reply.

"_Dear Gringotts goblins,_

_ Due to the resurrection of Voldemort earlier this year, I have been under relative house arrest. I believe Dumbledore has set watchers on my house, so escaping would be very difficult. Assistance in reaching you before the date set would be very helpful in this matter. Also, are familiars allowed in the Academy?_

_Sincerely Harry Potter."_

Harry handed his reply to the owl who delivered it. It hooted before flying off.

He had no idea that the watchers who protected the house were all on break, so they had no idea about the owl's arrival or departure.

In the meantime, Harry started to pack all his things in a backpack he had bought third year that had a permanent expansion charm on it. He had gotten it primarily so he could escape the house before he was 'rescued' by the magicals under Dumbledore's rule.

He had kept it stocked with all the things he would need to run away and never look back. No one knew about it, so they would never expect him to have it. He threw all the books he felt would be useful and anything he actually wanted to keep. Once he was done, he found that he barely had half of the trunk full. Lockhart's ridiculous books took up a lot of space, as had a lot of junk.

Hedwig hooted at him. She knew he planned to leave and not come back, and she approved.

* * *

The next two days were a long wait for Harry and his owl. Still, he managed to keep his departure under wraps, taking long walks outside the house, never paying attention to the news. Finally, on the third day another owl appeared.

Of course the timing could have been much better. Dudley and his gang saw the owl appear. After a minor fight and dealing with _Dementors_ of all things in Little Whinging, Harry knew his time had come.

He made sure to argue loudly with Vernon, who locked him up in his room. Petunia would no doubt be employing the cat flap from second year until he was rescued.

That was exactly what Harry was counting on. He kept an eye out for his watchers, and waited until the fifteen minute window appeared where they changed shifts.

By the time Mad-Eye took his shift from Mundungus, Harry was long gone.

"...I hate port keys..." said Harry. He had landed ungracefully in Gringotts with Hedwig on his opposite side.

"Most people do," said Ripfang dryly.

Once he got his bearings, Ripfang walked him through the admissions process. His application had already been accepted and confirmed, he just needed to make it there and get his supplies. Hedwig was equipped with a spell to get her past the barrier, since Harry still liked talking with Sirius.

Due to the mess Voldemort had created the first time around, port keys and other magical transportation didn't work at the Academy...unless it was to someplace on the grounds. Harry would have to leave the dimension in order to leave the school that way.

The goblins were more than happy to let him use the special doorways to the school so he could catch the regular bus.

It took him an hour, and a good dip into his trust to get more books that he could read later, but he was finally ready.

He couldn't wait. A second chance. A new beginning.

"You should be aware, Lord Potter, that once you begin attending Youkai Academy that you will be unable to return to Hogwarts. You can still take your OWLs and NEWTs, but your registered school will be Youkai Academy."

"So Dumbledore will lose his only hold on me? Good. I have no regrets."

"Very well. Here is the translation charm. It will slowly teach you the languages you encounter until you no longer need it. Whatever you do, try not to get killed."

"Thank you. For your assistance, I want you to transfer a thousand galleons to the goblin clans for helping me escape."

Ripfang's eyes widened. It was rare for the wizards to show any gratitude to the goblin clans.

* * *

Harry stared around him at Japan. He took one look at the nearest bookstore and grinned.

He had a few hours before he had to catch the bus. Time for a bit of fun!

Half an hour later he was smiling, feeling happier than he had in...well, ever actually. He wasn't being held down by the expectations or demands of the wizards. He wasn't being used like a pawn in a game had no understanding of.

He was just Harry. Something he wanted for years but never actually had. He looked at his new watch (he got it at this store that sold Japanese cartoons. Anime, he believed it was called) with the picture of a yellow mouse with red cheeks and black tipped ears. It was the only thing he recognized. He had fifteen minutes to catch the bus.

Harry ran to the stop, and found that he wasn't as alone as he assumed.

There was another boy there, though he didn't look like a demon or monster. In fact he looked decidedly mundane.

"This is the bus to Youkai Academy, isn't it?" he asked carefully.

The kid nodded, clearly surprised to see someone else.

"You just barely made the last bus," commented the driver.

"Shopping spree. First time I've been allowed to do as I please in concerns to shopping," said Harry.

He sat across from the human kid, though how he managed to get into Youkai Academy when the brochure said it was human free he had no clue.

As the bus rolled to it's destination, the two made small talk.

"So...what's your name?" asked the human kid.

"Potter Harry. You?"

"Tsukune Aono."

"How'd you get into Youkai Academy?"

"My dad found an application from a priest. It was the only high school that accepted me."

"...You do realize that there's a reason it's called _Youkai_ Academy, right?"

"I thought they named it because they had a fascination with demons?" said Tsukune.

"Seriously? You didn't know about this place?" said Harry in disbelief.

Suddenly Tsukune was having misgivings about going to this school...

Harry not only didn't react to the fact this pink haired girl was sucking on the kid's blood, he looked decidedly bored about it!

"I'm so sorry! I was just so thirsty..."

"I have some water if you need it," offered Harry.

"Thanks. But I'm fine now. I'm Akashiya Moka."

"Harry Potter."

"Tsukune Aono."

"Ano...do either of you like vampires?" she asked timidly.

"I don't have a problem with them. One of my uncles is a werewolf after all."

"So do either of you see the school?" asked Tsukune.

"Hold on... Hedwig, do you see any buildings up ahead?" Harry called out. His owl took off and hooted. She circled twice around them before flying in another direction.

"Um...would you like to be friends?" asked Moka.

"Sure! Be nice to have a friendly face to talk to," said Harry. They followed his owl who stayed within eyesight.

"All right, all you new students! Welcome to Youkai Academy! My name is Shizuka Nekonome and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year!"

Harry took one look at her and immediately pegged her as a cat of some sort. He was right in front of a blue haired girl who reminded him of a Veela, only the effect was more toned down. Next to him was Tsukune.

"I'm sure you all know this, but Youkai Academy is a place where Monsters can learn in a safe, human-free environment!"

Tsukune was starting to see Harry's warning. Apparently he had known about the fact that Youkai Academy was literally a school for monsters and the boy felt obligated to at least give him a head's up.

As Nekonome continued, Tsukune grew more and more panicked. Harry, on the other hand, was trying not to grin. The stay-in-human-form rule was absolutely perfect for him, because he didn't _have_ a monster form!

Poor Tsukune was absolute freaked, and it didn't help that another student started talking about eating humans.

"Well you see it's impossible for humans to get in here. There's a barrier that would kill them on the spot if they came in here."

"Say what you will, but I swear I've been smelling human ever since I came into here," complained Saizo.

"Um...that's my fault. I forgot to wash the uniform before I came and I was sitting next to a human on the train before I took the bus," said Harry. Saizo's attention successfully diverted, Tsukune breathed a sigh of relief that the guy wasn't looking at him anymore.

Moka broke all the tension by coming and taking her seat. Well, after she was done glomping Tsukune first.

* * *

"So this is my new room? I hope that my roommate doesn't snore..." said Harry. He quickly picked a bed and put his things away. Already he felt right at home here, and he didn't mind the fact that he was going to school with a bunch of homicidal monsters.

Once he was done, he stretched and took a shower. Hedwig was out hunting and it was clear she preferred it here too. He came out half an hour later to find his new roommate.

"Eh? Tsukune?"

"Harry?"

"You're my roommate?"

"I guess. I've been meaning to ask, why weren't you freaked out by all the monsters? You seem just as human as I do."

"Meh, I've seen weirder. Besides, I asked to come here two years before I came. So, are you...well...mundane?" he asked.

Tsukune had closed the door.

"Huh?"

"You know, human?"

Tsukune began to sweat. Was Harry going to kill him?

"I thought so. How the hell did you even get into this place anyway? I mean the entrance fee alone is a royal pain to pay and I would assume that you would need a charm to get through the barrier Ms. Nekonome mentioned..."

"You don't mind?"

"You seem like a nice guy and all, but I swear to Merlin if you snore I will smother you with a damn pillow."

"Wait, why aren't you freaking out? I thought monsters hated humans?"

"Technically I'm not a monster. But while we're on the subject..." said Harry, pulling out his wand.

"...Is that a magic wand?"

"Yup. I'm a wizard. It was either here or a place where people expect me to be something I'm not."

"So...you're not going to expose me?"

"If nothing else I could say you're a squib. That should get the monsters off your back."

"What's a squib?"

"Someone born from a magical family who can't use magic at all. Basically they are like regular humans except they can see through magic veils."

"Do you think it will fool them?"

"It's better than the truth. And let's face it, it would explain a _lot_ about how you got in here."

"...Thanks for giving me a good lie to use," said Tsukune. At least now he had an idea of what to say if people asked what he was.

* * *

"_Dear Padfoot,_

_ I'm sure by now you're wondering what the hell happened to me and how I escaped Privet Drive before any of Dumbledore's lackeys could get me. Well here's my secret._

_Two years ago I asked a random goblin where they go to school and learned that there are in fact alternative places to get an education. The only downside was that I would have to wait in order to fit the age requirement. Well, I am happy to say that Hogwarts is now a fading memory and I had no intention of going back. I don't have to deal with Snape here, or any end-of-the-year plots against my life!_

_Oh, and before you get any hair-brained schemes to get me out of here against my will, please inform that barmy old coot that port keys and apparition are warded against unless it's to other locations on school grounds._

_I can guarantee you Remus would _love_ it here, not only would he not have to worry about the students freaking out over his condition, they wouldn't even bat an eye!_

_Hope you're enjoying yourself as much as I am,_

_Harry."_


	19. Midnight Wings Chapter One

It all began because of his crappy fourth year. Someone who could be a good friend later was killed, and he had to deal with an information blackout because the Headmaster didn't believe him mature enough to handle any information.

So it was only natural that he see how long it took for the watchers to realize he left Durzkaban on his own two feet.

He had two legs and was used to walking, unlike a majority of magical people.

So he grabbed what he needed, threw it all in an expandable bag and enough food to last him a week and pretended to be on one of his usual walks around Surrey.

It took them an hour to realize he was long gone. By that time he was half-way to London because of a nice couple who gave him a lift.

* * *

"Has anyone been able to find him?" demanded Dumbledore.

"Not a trace. He's off the grid, and we found the remains of his wand in the room," said Moody.

It was clearly holly and the red and gold feather was visible to everyone there.

Sirius was the only one unconcerned. Trust his godson to go off the grid to make a point. Suddenly Arthur came rushing out of the floo.

"Umbridge has Harry. I overheard it from a contact in the Department of Mysteries...she's going to send him out of this world!" he panted.

Dumbledore ran to the floo and yelled "Ministry of Magic!"

But he would be too late.

* * *

"Well this is boring," commented Harry. He had been hijacked by some Ministry drone right outside London.

The pink toad who commanded the drones looked at him like he was a tasty fly.

"Look, can we get on with this?" said Harry bored out of his mind.

"So eager to die Potter?" sneered the toad.

"Actually I'm just bored. What's with all the runes anyway?" he commented.

"We're sending you far away, where no one will ever find you. That ought to teach you a lesson about slandering the Ministry," she said smugly.

"Really now? Think anyone would mind if I picked the destination? I mean if I really like it I won't come back even if my so called friends tried to bring me back," said Harry, finally interested in the proceedings.

"So the great Harry Potter would like to leave?" she said, eyes gleaming.

"The great Potter is sick of this nonsense and would like a long uninterrupted vacation," Harry corrected.

"Then by all means Potter, pick your destination! However if you ever set foot in Britain again be prepared for Azkaban!" sneered the toad.

"Fair enough," said Harry. He looked through the destinations and picked the one he liked best. It was in another dimension entirely, and it would be difficult to access twice without some serious help and Dumbledore levels of magic.

It was a clean world from what he could tell, remote and no real technology. Plus he could feel the magic from that place without having to step foot on it.

"Send me here and I won't bother you again, not unless some moron drags me back. But I will need a few things before I go, so I can properly enjoy my vacation," said Harry.

"Name them," said the toad. This was too good to be true! Potter was willingly leaving and guaranteed he wouldn't come back!

Harry made a quick list, though he would have to go to Diagon to get some of it. Not like he trusted these...flunkies...with his vault.

Harry walked out of Gringotts with nearly all his gold, every book in the family vault (among other things), and a brand new key for what was left of the gold.

He had transferred it to a new vault in order to keep the Ministry from getting their claws in it. And he put it under the name Yukiru Sugisaki.

(Yukiru Sugisaki is the creator of _D.N. Angel._)

With how stupid the Death Eaters were, it was unlikely anyone would figure out that the vault had what was left of his gold. They wouldn't bother a 'foreign' vault, believing it to hold a paltry sum of gold.

He came out to find Hedwig looking rather cross with him.

"Sorry girl. Alright, let's get this over with," said Harry.

The toad smirked as they sent off Potter for good. Dumbledore tried to break into the ritual, but Harry was long gone. A gust of wind blew through the room when Dumbledore opened it, and sent all the papers on the subject and where Harry had gone flying. The runes had already vanished as soon as the magic took full effect.

Harry was long gone.

* * *

Harry woke up in the world he had picked. It was clean, much cleaner than home. The sky was clear, and there were pegasus flying...

Wait a minute!

Harry sorely missed his Firebolt as he wanted a better look at those pegasus. As he thought of flight, he felt something on his back making a whumping noise, much like a copter does when taking off.

Turning his head, he noticed that he now had midnight black wings! Wings that were apparently trying to take off it seemed. In shock, he grabbed his bag, only to discover that it had turned into some sort of saddlebag. A quick check revealed everything was still in it (except the Firebolt, which he could only assume had turned into wings).

He was about to go to the nearest lake to see what was really going on when he remembered something.

"Hedwig!"

A loud, amused hoot came from above. Apparently his owl had woken up before he did and had gotten past her own panic attack.

"Laugh it up Hedwig," growled Harry. She landed on his back (seeing as how her preferred perch of his arm was unavailable) as he went in search of a reflective surface.

_Thirty minutes later..._

"I don't believe it. I'm a bloody horse!" he said in disbelief.

His fur was a deep midnight black, and his mane appeared to have turned a deep blue with bright red streaks in it, but was as messy as ever. His tail was the same color, only the red had two tones instead of just one and it was straighter than his mane. He appeared to be a bit buff, but he was still in need of a growth spurt. His glasses, which were a broken black, had been fixed and turned an interesting shade of blue. His eyes seemed softer than before too.

His invisibility cloak had been altered too, which he hadn't noticed initially. And his trainers had been split into four and had changed into two different colors, dark blue in the front and magenta in the back.

Night had fallen while he searched for a lake of some sorts, and with it came the attention of the one who ruled it.

Harry was so exhausted from his travels he was almost about to fall asleep when a voice said behind him "The correct term is Pony."

He nearly jumped out of his skin...er, fur. He turned to find a beautiful night black mare with flowing mane that looked like the night sky above. On her flank was a small black splotch with a crescent moon. She had both wings and horn, and what appeared to be armor on her chest.

She also had this air that he had never seen before...almost regal in fact.

The thing that really got his attention was that she had some serious magic in her, because he could feel it and he wasn't even trying to!

"Now little stallion, who exactly are you? I can tell from the amount of magic around you that you don't belong here," she said.

Harry rubbed his hoof to his head.

"All I wanted was a normal vacation, and what do I get? Talking ponies..." he muttered.

"Most people don't jump dimensions looking for a vacation," she said dryly.

"They do if they were looking for some peace and quiet for a change. Back in my world people wouldn't leave me be, so when given a choice between being locked up or jumping worlds, I decided to leave my world and come to a destination that didn't look like it would get me killed," said Harry flatly.

"It couldn't have been _that_ bad," she said.

"It was worse," said Harry.

"In any case, I needed to check who had arrived outside our dimension before they caused trouble."

"Oi! I don't _cause_ trouble, it keeps finding me!" protested Harry.

The mare cocked her head when she heard the owl laughing at him.

"You swear not to cause any mischief in Equestria?" she asked.

"I may cause a few pranks here and there, but I won't deliberately cause trouble," said Harry.

"In that case, welcome to Equestria Mr.?"

"Call me Midnight."

"Welcome, Midnight. You may call me Princess Luna," said the mare.

Harry, now Midnight, did a bow.

"Word of warning... I would avoid my older sister Celestia if I were you. Last time someone traveled here outside our world, she didn't take it too well," said Luna before vanishing.

"Why does this always happen to me?" complained Midnight.

Hedwig merely hooted in amusement. Honestly, the things her nestling got into without trying!

* * *

_Back in Britain..._

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE ABANDONED US?!" shrieked Molly Weasly.

Everyone in the room winced.

"According to Umbridge's memories, Harry decided to leave our world willingly when informed of what the ritual did."

"What about his owl?"

"Confiscated by the Ministry and hasn't been seen," said Dumbledore. Hagrid had been most upset about that.

"His vault?"

"Emptied and closed," said Bill.

"His wand?"

"Snapped. Ollivander confirmed it, along with a rather sarcastic comment that he saw this coming when he realized how much we pushed the boy over the edge," said Dumbledore.

"What about his Firebolt? His Invisibility Cloak? His photo album?" demanded Molly.

"Taken along with the gold," said Dumbledore. They had checked for all of it.

"Any idea where he went?"

"All the papers with any hints of runes and the ritual circle itself are gone. Summoning charms won't work on it."

This only encourages Hermione, who dives deep into old books to find the ritual to locate Harry and another to bring him home.

* * *

Midnight was in such a good mood. Ever since ditching his world he had been free to do as he pleased. Strangely enough, his galleons and other currency immediately converted to bits, the dominant currency of Equestria. He wasn't complaining, but he did think it a bit odd.

Hedwig absolutely _loved_ Equestria, because the air was so clean. Eventually Midnight ended up in a small town called Ponyville.

Midnight's first stop was the library to see what sort of selection they had. After two months of living in Equestria, he was delighted to learn that he could channel his magic through his wings since he had been turned into a Pegasus instead of a Unicorn.

"I'll be down in a moment!" yelled a female's voice.

A young unicorn about his age with a bright pink and white cutie mark that looked like a group of stars came down from the upstairs. Behind her was a light purple baby dragon with green frills. Oddly enough they shared the same eye color.

"Welcome to the Ponyville library. What are you looking for?"

"Nothing in particular, just looking around," replied Midnight.

"Are you by any chance new in town? I've never seen you around here before," asked the mare.

"Just came to town actually. I've been wandering around Equestria for a while now," said Midnight.

"I'm surprised Pinkie didn't see you. She likes to great the newcomers," said the dragon.

Yet another thing he had gotten used to. Several animals could talk here, with the exception of the much smaller ones. The first time he heard a Diamond Dog talk he had nearly freaked out.

"What's your name?" asked Midnight curiously. It was rare to meet a friendly dragon.

"I'm Spike!"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," said the mare.

"Midnight Cloudrunner, and this is Hedwig."

The snowy owl hooted once before going back to sleep. Sitting on her nestling's back while he was walking was very soothing.

"So what brings you to Ponyville?"

"Finally left school, my parents left me a sizable amount of bits, and I really didn't want to settle down so I went on a walk one day and haven't stopped yet. I generally stick around for a few weeks and move on. Coincidentally do you know of anyplace I could stay for a few weeks? Clouds are nice and all but it's not much fun when it rains," said Midnight pleasantly.

"You might want to ask Applejack over at Sweet Apple Acres, or if you can handle animals Fluttershy might be able to help. However if you value your sanity avoid Cupcake Corner, because Pinkie will talk your ears off. Rarity might use you as a dress-up doll if you stayed with her and Rainbow values her privacy," said Twilight bluntly.

"Thanks. So what sort of selection they have around here?" asked Midnight.

Being around Hermione for four years had nearly killed his natural love of libraries, but being in an entirely new world without the bossy bookworm had miraculously revived it.

As Twilight took him through the various sections, Midnight noticed with amusement that Spike was watching him like a hawk. Apparently the fact someone had asked him for his name first instead of Twilight had impressed him or something.

So it came as little surprise that Twilight had Spike lead him around Ponyville.

Midnight was beyond amused by Spike and his infatuation of Rarity. The mare was an overplayed 'Lady' which amused him to no end, unlike how Ginny occasionally acted whenever she believed him to be out of range of hearing or sight.

He knew everyone and their grandmother believed he would fall for Ginny and have a smattering of ginger and black haired children, but to be honest he had never seen the girl that way.

Not to mention he loathed all fangirls with a passion, and Ginny still acted like one.

True to Twilight's warning, the second Rarity saw his coloring and coat she dragged him into her workshop and insisted on giving him a new outfit to wear.

Midnight didn't mind, because honestly the only clothing he had was his cloak and his by now worn out trainers. He liked walking and while flying was fun, it grew tiring rather quickly as he had yet to build up his flight muscles.

Because of Princess Luna's warning, he didn't want to stand out by not being able to fly for longer than an hour (even less at his top speeds) unlike most of the Pegasus ponies he saw around.

About the most flying he had done since coming here was to get to a nice cloud above the ground to nap, and even then it was a total pain sleeping on the ones that rained.

And don't get him started on the thundering ones...

It would be three hours before he managed to escape Rarity, to the amusement of one baby dragon and snow owl. And nothing would be said of the matter later.


	20. Midnight Wings Chapter Two

Pinkie, Midnight decided upon meeting the excitable and random pink Pony, was far too much like the Twins for him to ignore. It may have had something to do with the fact she pranked him a few minutes into the party she threw for no reason other than to welcome him to Ponyville once she learned of his presence from Twilight.

He would later prank her for inflicting the most random Pony to ever exist on him by putting a whoopie cushion on her chair and hiding it under a disillusionment spell. The look of embarrassed shock made up for the near five hours of Pinkie's attention on him.

He liked cupcakes. He wasn't that enthusiastic about them like Pinkie was.

At least he was able to meet Applejack at the party, who agreed to let him help out at the farm in exchange for a place to sleep at night and almost all the apples he could eat.

He had a knack for catching the apples she bucked. They even had a race later in the week to see who would win. Applejack or Midnight. She had to buck most of the trees and he had to catch them without relying on his wings.

Much to the shock of the country pony, Midnight won.

(This would later result in him being challenged by Rainbow Dash and just barely winning, along with an excuse to strengthen his wing muscles by racing her repeatedly while there.)

Everything seemed fine...right up until the point when he ran into Princess Celestia who was visiting Twilight.

* * *

Celestia took one look at the friendly Midnight and her eyes narrowed slightly. She recognized that he wasn't from Equestria by the cloak he rarely took off. (He quit wearing the trainers when the soles became ratty.)

She knew that there were no objects that radiated Death magic in her world, which meant a Dimension Jumper, again.

Fortunately they were both willing to wait an hour before she confronted him.

"Alright, what's a Dimension Jumper doing in Equestria?" she demanded.

"Woah, Luna wasn't kidding when she said you hated people who come here from outside," said Midnight.

Celestia made a note to have a long talk with her sister later when a massive white owl hooted loudly and landed on Midnight's back.

"Look, I'm not here to cause trouble, far from it. I was given a choice of either being thrown unwillingly into another world or picking one, and I picked the one with the highest ambient magic. It wasn't expecting to be turned into a Pegasus or learn that most creatures can talk," said Midnight bluntly.

"What are your plans for Equestria?" she asked. Clearly this colt wasn't nearly as irritating as Discord.

"Vacation. I've been wandering around for months now and I haven't caused any problems for anyone aside from the occasional prank."

Celestia decided to go for the lesser of two evils.

"Would you be willing to stay in Ponyville for a year? You could call it a trial of sorts so I know I can trust you."

"Sure."

"If you do go anywhere I want Twilight or one of her friends with you," said Celestia.

"Not a problem."

"And if I find out you're causing trouble I _will_ kick you out of Equestria," said Celestia. This colt didn't seem like he would be as much trouble to kick out as Discord had been. Sealing really was the only method they had at the time to deal with him!

"For the last time, I don't go looking for trouble, it finds me!" said Midnight irate.

Unlike Luna, Celestia wasn't the least bit amused by that information. She half-considered making him stay twice as long because of it.

Midnight sighed when she finally left. He had the horrid suspicion that it was going to be a _long_ year.

* * *

"S'up Spike?" said Midnight. He was there to return a book.

Since he was going to be stuck in Ponyville for a year (Luna had shown up shortly after Celestia had that talk with him and the two talked about stars for hours) he had opted to getting his own place. As much as he liked working at Sweet Apple Acres, he really couldn't stand the fact Big Macintosh snored, rather loudly at that, every night.

No way was he sleeping in the same room as one of the girls. He was a guy, it wouldn't be proper!

Fortunately it seemed Rainbow lived in an apartment style cloud home, so he was able to rent the place below hers. She had no problem with it, so long as he didn't keep her up at night and raced her occasionally. The fact he even cooked her breakfast almost every morning also helped.

(She came in to his home one morning when she smelled cooked eggs and a fresh salad. After that he just left either the window or door open for her to wander in once she finally woke up.)

Luckily for all those involved, Rainbow got along great with Hedwig, if only because they both got to laugh at Midnight's occasional bad luck.

Like the time he got a wing snagged in the gorge while seeing how badly his flying skills had deteriorated...luckily Rainbow had decided to fly there that day and had helped him untangle the wing...he was still banned from flying for three days.

Rainbow actually complained that he had hurt his wing, because it meant he was stuck in his apartment for three days and she had volunteered to get some books from Twilight for him...which meant more time in the library.

Rainbow wasn't much of a reader.

* * *

Midnight was a regular around Ponyville, doing the odd job around town. Because he was what many called a 'blank flank' he had trouble settling down.

He honestly had no idea that those markings on the Pony's flanks were so important. Then again his cloak tended to cover his flank, so that's why no one had commented on it sooner.

He seemed to get along with the Mane Six the best. Though it had been touch and go with Twilight when she learned he was a 'Jumper', which apparently carried some unpleasant stigma courtesy of the last one to come here.

Something about the embodiment of Chaos nearly rearranging the place before being sealed into a statue.

He thought it better not to ask.

Fortunately their love of books and magic fixed any distance between them, and Twilight became his magic teacher when she learned he had been channeling his magic through his wings this whole time.

She was especially interested in his invisibility cloak, which he lent her once he got a replacement from Rarity. After all this time having it hang off his wings, it felt odd not having one on.

Midnight got to enjoy the chaos that happened around Twilight and her friends, mostly because while he occasionally helped out he wasn't obligated to do a thing.

That all changed when for some reason, the clouds around Ponyville turned cotton candy pink and started to rain chocolate milk.

He learned that from Rainbow Dash, who had gotten caught up in one and had it rain on her. He was still laughing about that, even after she washed the sticky mess off.

"So anyone else notice the crazy weather lately?" asked Midnight, flying upside down.

Now that he didn't have to hide from Celestia, he had been able to fly much longer. His wings were strong enough to carry him around for hours now. Plus Rainbow had helped him get a hold of some special medicine when he overused them, cutting recovery down in half.

Twilight had just gotten the candy clouds under control and kept the animals from eating Apple Jack's farm up when Spike shot out a scroll from the princess.

"She wants us to come to Canterlot! _All_ of us," said Twilight.

"Wait, by all do you mean...?" said Midnight, hovering upright.

"She wants you there too," Twilight confirmed.

There was only _one_ reason Celestia would want him there as well. The other Jumper must have broken free.

* * *

Midnight stayed in the library with one of the guards watching while Twilight tried to find the Elements of Harmony. She apparently believed them to be in the Royal Maze, which sounded ridiculous to Midnight.

He was about to get another book by Starswirl when he noticed he wasn't alone.

"Discord, right?" he said calmly.

After dealing with the twins for years, a little thing like Chaos wasn't going to bother him,

"_My my, Celestia sure has you under a tight leash doesn't she," _said Discord bored. He was a little disappointed by the fact this pegasus looked at him like he was...shudder...normal.

"Not like I care. Apparently you've given Dimension Jumpers a bad name around here. As long as I keep to her rules, she leaves me alone. Besides, Princess Luna is far more fun than that stuffy Celestia."

Discord laughed heartily at that. Thanks to a minor charm to keep it quiet, none of the guards outside could hear them or knew he was there.

"_You're quite the interesting one."_

"And you remind me far too much of a pair of identical twins who love pranks," said Midnight flatly.

"_Oh-ho! Might I have the names of these purveyors of Chaos?"_

"Fred and George Weasley, or Gred and Forge. Red heads, identical to the last strand of hair, and are called the Terror Twins because they prank people a lot. I guarantee you that if they saw your work, they would beg you to teach them how to create more harmless chaos," said Midnight unconcerned.

"_There is no such thing as a _little_ harmless chaos," _said Discord.

"Your brand of chaos is harmless. You may make things a bit weird, but you aren't actually hurting anyone with it. The other kind is where everyone is in a panic and getting hurt, and if you were that type then I would get involved. As it stands, Twilight can handle this. She needs to loosen up anyway," said Midnight.

Discord made a grimace. He never liked the other kind of chaos, mostly because the 'victims' tended to band together and try to kill him. Chaos for the sake of amusement, not pain, was much less of a headache.

"You know you could always go to my world and cause all the chaos you want. Not like I'll care. Besides, I know three people who might *benefit* from it," said Midnight mischievously.

"_Do tell,"_ said Discord eagerly. Something about the tone in the Pony's voice caught his interest.

As Midnight spoke of his aunt and uncle, Discord cackled along with him about the thought of chaos in Privet drive. Discord promised to pay the Dursley family a visit, once he was done playing here.

While his physical body would probably be trapped again, his spirit and mind could leave anytime it wanted. All he would have to do was follow the magical signature of the spell that sent Midnight here and he could all the fun he wanted without worrying about those blasted Elements of Harmony!

"Have fun, Discord, and do share the memories of my relatives when they realize I was the one to send you their way," said Midnight cheerfully, waving the other Jumper off with a hoof.

Discord cackled with amusement, making a note to chat with the boy at a later date, since he could apparently see spirits unlike the rest.

Only Luna had that ability for some reason, though she ignored him since she figured out he couldn't interact with the physical world years ago.

* * *

Midnight was stuck in Canterlot as the girls went home, (except Rainbow who appeared to be missing) all looking distinctly grayer except Twilight, who was muttering angrily.

Since he was going to be stuck there until Discord was gone, Midnignt decided to visit Luna instead of dealing with Celestia. Apparently this mollified Celestia who ignored him as soon as he was with Luna.

"Yo," said Midnight.

"Hello Midnight. My sister annoyed you enough yet?" giggled Luna. For some reason Midnight made her feel like a little filly again.

"Honestly, I don't see why she's so suspicious of me! I mean the most trouble I've caused was talking to Discord and convincing him to go bother my home world," complained Midnight.

"You talked to Discord? How did the guards not see that?"

"He was in spirit form. He seemed surprised that I wasn't reacting to his appearance and could see him."

"So why did you inflict Discord on your world?"

"The ones in it annoyed me enough, and I knew he would love the twins," said Midnight with a straight face.

Three hours later, Midnight was allowed to go home as Discord had been resealed. Or so Celestia believed. She didn't know Discord left a copy that would alert him when the spell would break again and had gone to Midnight's home world to cause mischief.

* * *

Fred and George were under a great deal of shock when the Draconequus appeared in their room. Initially when he showed up, they had their wands pointed at him ready to hex him.

That all went out the window when Discord said the magical words "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

The amount of mischief in his tone was all that was needed for them to hear him out. Learning Harry had sent him their way to cause chaos and generally give everyone headaches was all they had to hear for them to help.

The amount of evil cackling between the three was only surpassed by the evil laughter of Sirius, when they brought him in on the fun.

It was going to be a long ten months for the Order...

* * *

"Happy Halloween, I mean Nightmare Night Luna!" said Midnight. This was probably the first time he got to enjoy this holiday.

Probably because according to his calender, it wasn't technically October 31rst yet.

"What is this...Halloween?" asked Luna.

"It's a holiday back home where the barrier between the living and the dead is so thin that ghosts can come see their loved ones. It's also called Samhain or All Hallow's Eve, but most call it Halloween. It's considered a good day to cast spells, because certain magics are amplified."

"So how is it similar to Nightmare Night?" asked Twilight, who overheard part of the conversation.

"Kids wear costumes and go out for free candy. In fact the only real difference I see between Halloween and Nightmare Night is that instead of ghosts and ghouls forgoing tricks in favor of treats, it's Nightmare Moon they warn the kids about," said Midnight.

Luna looked sour about that reminder. It wasn't her fault that the darker half of her powers went out of control! Midnight patted her on the shoulder.

"Relax Luna. Even if Nightmare Moon did come after me, I wouldn't be that freaked out. After all, she _is_ part of you, and if I'm not scared of you, then I'm not scared of you. Besides, I've faced down scarier things than a Pony who can create nightmares..." grinned Midnight.

Luna relaxed. With how tense everyone was acting around her, she didn't know how to get through to them.

"Besides, we can use Nightmare next year for a good laugh."

"How so?" asked Luna.

"Ever heard of a haunted house?" grinned Midnight evilly.

As he began to describe what it was, Luna had the strangest grin on her face... Finally, a use for her nightmares that wouldn't hurt anypony!


	21. A Light in the Darkness Chapter One

A little known fact about Lily Evans: she was not, in fact the first magically inclined person in her family. She was simply the first to show signs of it in recent years after the split.

Lily Evans was the unknown descendant of the Hikari clan, a family that prided itself on creating and copying master-level works of art. Among them was their pride and joy, a mirror which was supposed to have it's own soul.

No one knows if it would have worked or not, because in the middle of the forbidden ceremony, their rivals the Niwa clan, who were master thieves and sealing experts, broke into the room and disrupted the ceremony.

And thus the four hundred year feud began. Ever since the Niwas stopped the ceremony, both clans had been given a curse of sorts.

One was given the spirit of Dark, who took the traits of the best the clan had to offer and became a thief who could use magic. He favored darker clothing and had the muscles of a natural gymnast. His back had a beautiful pair of raven colored wings, though the human side could manifest it as blood red.

The other was given the spirit Krad, who slowly became psychotic and bloodthirsty...with no remorse for those who carried his spirit. Krad favored brighter clothing and could easily be mistaken for an angel with his blond hair and white wings. Whether the human could manifest a pair on their own is still unclear.

Two sides, two souls.

Dark and Krad. Dark, who by all accounts was the kinder side, could only take hold of his host through the lighter emotions, particularly love. Krad, who was the colder side, could take control whenever the host showed a moment of weakness.

Still, the presence of either spirit in a host did have one rather unpleasant side effect.

Because of them, the birth rate in both clans dropped like a stone. And it wasn't because of the fact that the bodies housed two different souls. It was because of an indirect fact that in order to be rid of the souls, they had to find someone to love the host unconditionally. Something that was thwarted by the souls taking over whenever certain conditions were met.

At some point in time, the Hikari clan branched out. One side had high magic levels and Krad, the other had low magic levels but higher skill in the clan arts. When the rift became too wide, the clan split into two groups. The weaker magic levels slowly faded away and became Squibs, those born into magic families but are unable to use it. The stronger slowly dwindled away to a single pair of mother and son.

Likewise the Niwa clan split apart into two groups. One with magic and Dark, the other with higher spirit levels and better reflexes. The two would keep in contact, but the families eventually split into two different clans. Though the Niwa clan did occasionally send someone to the other family to take tests on their ability or, if the conditions were met to release Dark, marry back into it.

Lily Evans was the first in a long line of squibs who had enough magic to manifest Krad. However, the blood was still too thin for him to come out properly. The result of which caused her to have brief episodes of black outs where Krad influenced her. It was because of this that she was known to have a sporadic temper, not that her husband truly cared about it.

The only time Krad even came out of Lily Evans ne Potter was the night she died.

* * *

Voldemort, who had leveled his wand at Lily who was standing protectively over her son, watched as white wings enveloped the woman and revealed an annoyed blond man who wore a few crosses on his person. He was almost entirely decked out in white and gold...and upon looking into his eyes, Voldemort didn't even try to fool himself that this was a benevolent angel.

This man was pissed.

"_Hmph. So the girl finally brings me out. I must say it has been a frustrating eleven years. You must be Voldemort...the one she was so worried about."_

"And who the hell are you?"

"_Who I am is none of your concern. All you need to know is that you have officially pissed me off. Even _I_ don't go after children."_

Which was true. In all the years Krad had been alive, he had never gone after children. He rarely manifested in those under ten, and even then it had to be an extreme case such as the bomb that nearly killed his host at the time during the war.

Voldemort glared at him.

_"You have two options. Get lost or die."_

"And if I refuse?"

"_Then you find out the hard way why I am feared by the rival clan..._"

Voldemort didn't say a word to that...but instead leveled his wand at the angel-like being and cast the killing curse. Krad sneered at him before causing the spell to rebound on the deranged hypocrite. Voldemort was dead before he hit the floor.

Krad could tell his host was dying. There was very little time for her since she couldn't maintain his presence for a prolonged period of time, let alone the amount of power it took to cause the killing curse to rebound on the man.

So instead he checked on the infant who was watching with large green eyes.

"_Something tells me you're going to manifest me faster than your mother did. At the very least I can give you _some_ protection..."_ said Krad. Personally he liked kids, but his hosts often hated the fact he could control them and kick them to the back burner.

He gently brushed the black hair aside, and left what was left of the mother's magic inside the kid. At the very least it would give him a head start on learning how to handle Krad's particular magic. Not to mention when Lily learned of his plans, she quickly pushed some of her own magic.

The result of which was an odd lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Unknown to Krad, the odd ability he had to talk to any animal in their own language would later come to bite them both in the ass.

* * *

_Three years after Krad's defeat of Voldemort and Dumbledore's first move..._

The boy in Number 4 Privet Drive had no idea the odd scar on his head wasn't what everyone believed it to be. Many who knew of how Lily Potter had done something to save her son. The old man who left her child with her sister, who hated anything magic because her sister had inherited the family legacy and she didn't, believed the scar on his forehead was a remnant of the Dark Lord. A horcrux to be precise.

He was only half right on that account.

The child was barely four, but he looked half that due to malnutrition. His aunt was less than tolerant of his presence, and was not pleased that he would have to join her son in preschool soon. All he knew was that his family hated him...and they hated his unusual scar even more.

Today his uncle was going to hear about the big promotion.

When Vernon returned from work, he knew that not only did Vernon not get it, but his boss had probably called him out on something. Before he could hide from his angry uncle, the man backhanded him into the wall. Petunia heard the thump, but she was busy dealing with Dudley and thought Vernon had hit the table again. It wasn't until she heard the yelp of actual pain from her nephew that she realized what was going on.

She ran into the living room, horrified that Vernon was actually punching the boy.

While she didn't have any magic, she did know of the old tales of her family. During times of great stress, the old spirit would take over the body of the one who was in great danger of being killed.

Like her blasted nephew was at the moment. Before she could yell at him to stop, something snapped in the boy.

It was pretty obvious several ribs had been broken, and that his arm was in a great deal of pain. But still, he stood up and held up his broken arm.

Vernon hit a solid shield of magic. Petunia knew then that the worst possible thing had happened. Krad had awakened in her nephew.

Krad looked at the walrus with disgust.

"_I knew the man was a fool, but harming a child because of something he didn't do is beyond what I tolerate. You should have told him Petunia Evans,"_ said Krad.

Petunia shivered. It was bad enough Krad was fully awake...but if Vernon knew it came from her side of the family he would go ballistic.

Krad flexed the arm. Obviously he wasn't about to let his current host end up in the hospital because of Vernon. The broken bones mended quickly and properly. Krad frowned and the sound of shattered glass was heard.

"_I'll have to speak to the old one... No child should have those spells placed on them..."_

"Old one?" asked Petunia faintly.

"_I don't know who the old man who left the child on the doorstep is, but when I find him he will pay. Blood wards are not an acceptable excuse for leaving him in your care. I would have slept for even longer, but your...husband...forced my hand. So what will you do Petunia? Will you try to redeem yourself before you face your sister or will you allow yourself to descend into hell?"_

Petunia thought over her options. Krad would not allow any further abuse, that much was certain. However, she couldn't predict how Vernon would react to the fact that Dudley might show signs of magic. Or the fact she knew there was an ancient spirit who watched over her family.

She would never allow the man to harm her son. No matter how much she hated Lily, there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to anger Krad.

She picked up the phone and called the cops. Ten minutes later they were taking her nephew to the hospital to treat for bone fractures and several bruises. Krad had returned to his more dormant state. He had done his job and insured his new host wouldn't be killed by the fat man.

Only time would tell if Petunia would clean up her act.

* * *

_Harry, age eight, four years since Krad awakened partially..._

"Get up!" yelled Petunia. Harry was up and at 'em long before she yelled at the boys. With the arrest of Vernon for child abuse and endangerment, his aunt had to move them from Surrey. Fortunately, she still had the titles to a small house in Spooner's End that had belonged to her parents. While it wasn't the most cheerful of places for children, it was still better than to stay in the house with all the memories in it.

Plus there was something else in that town that could hopefully give Krad a reason not to kill her when he fully awakened. She had heard tales of his temper towards adults, and she didn't want him to turn it against her if she could help it.

Luckily with the removal of Vernon and the divorce, Krad had yet to make another appearance. It seemed he was content to sleep until Harry's magical core could properly handle the strain of him being active.

At the very least, his awakening did do one very odd thing. It unlocked something that had been covered. From what Petunia remembered of that day, it was most likely Dumbledore's doing. Clearly he had meddled in more than just their lives. He had tried to do something to her nephew.

And she knew he had done something to cause animosity towards Harry. Yes, she hated her sister, but even she wasn't depraved enough to starve a child or beat him like Vernon had tried to do.

Perhaps Krad would be willing to tell her.

Petunia handed Harry his breakfast, he hated greasy foods. Dudley came down reluctantly. Four years had created a large change in the boy, one of which was that he no longer resembled a small pig. It didn't hurt that Vernon's sister no longer came over to bother them.

It seemed drunks ran in the family as well as nasty mean streaks.

"What's on the schedule today, Aunt Petunia?"

"Normally I would say school, but there is someone I want you to met. Dudley, you can go see your little friends if you wish but I want you back no later than six. Am I clear?"

"Yes mum..." said Dudley sullenly. One of the many things that had changed was that Petunia no longer allowed him to act like a spoiled brat. He had to help Harry with the chores and actually do his homework.

Once Harry had finished his breakfast, Dudley went off to see his friends. Petunia led Harry to the lone tower that was a mile from their house.

Harry's eyes widened. He had heard stories from the other children about the tower...and how a vampire lived in it. For some reason though, no one could ever see the vampire during the school months.

Petunia walked right up to the door and knocked. She heard a rather strong curse as the door opened. Harry could easily see why the neighboring children thought he was a vampire. The outfit and pale skin really didn't help.

"Petunia. I thought you lived in Surrey," he said with irritation.

"I moved back. I had to to keep Vernon far away from me and my son."

The man looked at the child, and Harry could see both anger...and sorrow.

"Why did you come here?"

"I need to make sure he is prepared for your world. The magic Lily had from our family has already acted out and I don't want him to end up dead because he was unable to control it. And I don't want that Ministry of yours knocking on _my_ door because of his power."

"What in blazes are you talking about woman?"

"Lily isn't the first magic user in our family. She's just the strongest."

The man's eyes widened, and he allowed them in. Petunia held her tongue about the clear magic in the house.

Harry was allowed to read some of the books in the study so long as he didn't make a mess of things. By the time Petunia came back, he was halfway through a book on what were known as potions. It was one that was fairly simple for beginners and it had looked rather interesting.

"Harry, I want you to come by here for the rest of the summer. Severus has agreed to teach you a few control exercises so we don't have any more...accidents...in the house."

"Can he teach me how to cook like in this book?" he asked curiously.

"It's called potions, and I'll teach you once I have a firm grasp of how strong your magic is," said the man.

Harry's eyes lit up. He loved to cook and paint, and his aunt didn't discourage him from it.


	22. Fate in the Clouds Chapter One

"_Are you sure this will work?"_

"_What have we got to lose? He gets found or he dies, either way we'll be rid of this brat forever! If they come for him, we can tell them we have no idea where he is!"_

"_I know, it's just..." long lost maternal instincts came to the front, thinking that perhaps abandoning her sister's son was a bad idea. However that was squashed by the fact she had no love for the boy and it was probably better for him to live out his life away from her husband who absolutely loathed her sister for being different._

_He didn't leave her much choice, taking the three year old boy with him outside England and to a country few rarely went to because of how dangerous it was. He left him in a mountainous region where clouds perpetually hid the middle of the mountains from view._

_He didn't know that someone had come to investigate the child's crying a few hours later and put him in an orphanage with other children, or the angry face the man had for someone abandoning a toddler in a very hazardous area._

* * *

_He knew he was going to die. He had chosen to take his twin's place so that the clan's bloodline would never fall in the hands of the scum who tried to kidnap his niece. Right as they were about to kill him for his eyes, someone broke into the room and nearly killed the medics._

_During the scuffle, he received a minor blow to the head in a place where it wasn't dangerous to his health, but it caused memory loss. Specifically who he was and where he came from. He remembered his ninja training, basic facts, and the date, but everything about what made his personality was gone._

_It would be years before the effects of sparing his life would be felt._

* * *

"Crap, crap, crap! I am so freaking late!" bemoaned a young genin.

He had recently graduated from the Academy, but because of his teammates he had failed spectacularly and was stuck with remedial classes for another _year_.

Fortunately his teachers knew he could easily pass again, and the fact that someone else was teaching him taijutsu meant he could skip those classes entirely to the annoyance of his fellow students.

He was five foot seven, with neck length fire red hair in a short tail, bright green eyes behind indestructible black glasses. On his back was a long katana, almost long enough to be called a tachi but a few inches too short. He wore a deep blue hoodie that could hide his distinctive hair color when put on. His kunai and shuriken pouches were on his left and right leg respectively. His pants were black, comfortable, and went down to his ankles. He had hid legs taped where the pouches were. His shoes were Kumo standard and well worn.

He also had an odd lightning shape scar, but his hair was so long no one ever saw it.

"You're late brat. Maybe I should train someone else," said the old man.

"Sorry Jiji! I got stuck with clean up duty at the Academy and those jerks made it harder by knocking over the bucket three times!"

"Hmph. Well at least your reasoning is acceptable."

He grinned and bowed to his taijutsu teacher, a blind old hermit on the mountain. He had met him years ago on a dare from the other orphans and once he realized how cool the man actually was he kept pestering him until the man relented and taught him.

He didn't mind the brat, who brought him his weekly groceries and the mail. He didn't like to socialize anyway, and this was the perfect excuse not to go into town.

The only real downside was that he had unofficially adopted the brat and the kid always called him Jiji. At least the kid didn't complain when he sent him into town with weights he could barely pick up just to get the mail and food. Or when he had him sharpen all his weapons once a week just to insure they could kill someone.

"Are you ready to continue the exercise from yesterday?"

"Yes Jiji!"

"Assume the stance."

He spread his legs in a way that made it easy to spin around.

"Remember, chakra is a part of you, but it needs to be conditioned before you can use it properly. You must have absolutely perfect control to be able to shut or open tenketsu with any efficiency. Now, try to expel the chakra on all points."

"Hai!"

He closed his eyes, and began to expel his chakra all over his body. The resulting power surge caused his body to spin rapidly. Fortunately he was used to such sensations, so he wasn't as dizzy as he could have been. Suddenly his left foot cross his right, and he tripped.

"Hiroto, what have I said about keeping your feet straight?" said Jiji tiredly.

"Fancy footwork isn't going to do you a damn bit of good if you can't keep from tripping on your own feet," said Hiroto tiredly.

"Now, again!"

Hiroto straightened himself out and tried again. He was able to keep it up, but the problem was keeping his feet from tripping him. For a Wind element he was extremely clumsy. According to the old man, this was because his body had yet to grow into his full height, and his gangly legs would only hinder him until he was able to handle having such long limbs.

Hiroto's dream was to become a medic nin, like Tsunade of the Sannin. This was mostly because he had seen how devastatingly effective the old man's fighting style was, incorporating lightning chakra to shut down the tenketsu of his opponent. However his control wasn't the best, and he also had to spend time on his kenjutsu, since he loved swords.

Hiroto often employed a double-handed style, which meant he was ambidextrous by default. He was one of the smartest boys in the class, but for some reason few of the kids liked him.

In a village where bringing new bloodlines was important, a nameless orphan like Hiroto was practically a nobody unless he showed real promise.

That was why he accepted the dare of the children in his orphanage and pestered the old man until he trained him. With the unusual tactics the old man used, he was sure to get noticed.

It was either that or fall back to his second option, pranks. Jiji didn't tell him to stop, only to learn how to escape his victims before he employed it on the jounin. This turned out to be wise advice after he had to clean up his first mess when his legs tripped him at the worst possible time. At least he had gotten off light...

"Again!"

Hiroto, in a fit of annoyance, returned to his stance, only this time he tried something different and channeled wind chakra instead.

"Stop! Hiroto, what was that?" asked the old man.

"I was channeling wind," he said, sitting down. It took a bit more chakra to use the element, but he hadn't tripped this time.

"Hmm...it never occurred to me that you could use elemental variants instead of straight chakra. Well, since you seem to have found a new way to use this trick, let's see if you can do the same with lightning."

Hiroto nodded, having enjoyed his short break. He assumed the stance again, only this time instead of expelling pure chakra, he used lightning chakra. The result was a dome roughly one meter in diameter that sparked like a raiton tag.

"Enough! It seems we've found a way for you to master this trick. You need to rest in order to restore your reserves, you chakra is barely genin level right now."

According to the old man, Hiroto had mid chunin reserves with barely genin-level control. It was something he took great pains to correct when he heard the boy's chosen career as a medic.

Sure, he could pinpoint all the pressure points in the human body better than most students, but his control needed a lot of work.

* * *

"What do you want Bee? I'm in the middle of something," the Raikage complained. It wasn't that he hated his brother, far from it, but the headaches he caused by his mere presence were pretty bad.

"You were at the graduation exam this year right?"

"What of it?"

"I noticed a certain red-haired menace didn't pass the second exam," said Bee.

The Raikage groaned. Ever since Bee found that red-haired kid in the forest training grounds, he had kept half an eye on him.

"From what I heard, it wasn't even the kid's fault. His team hated him from the get go and sabotaged him. His jounin sensei didn't want him so he threw all three of them back for another year."

"...Is it possible for me to take him on instead? I've seen the kid train, his sword technique is really good for his age and his taijutsu is like nothing I've ever seen."

"In six months Bee. You know the rules, throwbacks have to stay in the Academy at least six months before they can be retested by new jounin. Not to mention you have to find the kid. He disappears from the village for hours at a time. If it wasn't for the fact he has no useful knowledge worth knowing I'd be worried he some kind of amateur spy," said the Raikage.

"Nah, he just goes to some house in the middle of the mountains to train with a blind guy."

Seeing his brother's look, he shrugged.

"I followed him once when I heard he went missing a lot. I don't know who the blind guy is but ever since Hiroto started training with him he almost never leaves his house and he always has a piece of cloth around his eyes and forehead. His taijutsu's really weird though," said Bee offhand.

"Weird _how_?" asked the Raikage.

"From what I could see he does these little tap things to disable his opponent. I've seen the kid try something similar by channeling lightning chakra into senbon."

The Raikage immediately became suspicious. There weren't any taijutsu experts with that sort of skill in the village...if there were he would have known about it. It sounded a lot like the Hyuuga's Jyuken though and that made absolutely no sense.

The Hyuuga had avoided Kumo like the bijuu for what happened to their clan head. That had been a political mess and a half. To top it all off, Hiashi's body was never found, so they couldn't actually return it to the clan as an apology.

"If you want the kid, then you can have him in six months. In the meantime, either take a mission or get out of my damn office!" he growled.

Bee held up his hands in surrender, and left before his brother blasted him out of the office...again.

* * *

_Six months later..._

Bee was among the jounin instructors awaiting their selection from the previous group of possible genin. He had surprised a great many people when he showed up, but he wanted to get his hands on the kid before someone else did.

Hiroto looked at the jounin bored out of his mind while reading a text on healing techniques. At least until his name was called up by the teacher.

"Hiroto. HIROTO! Get your head of the blasted book boy!"

Hiroto looked up and glared at him. He was the taijutsu instructor and the man always had it out for him because he never used what he taught. Hiroto took great pleasure in pissing him off.

"What do you want you senile old man?" said Hiroto smirking.

"Shut up you clanless brat! One of the jounins asked for you specifically, so get lost!"

"...Someone actually asked for me?" he said surprised. One of the jounin in the back waved his hand, and Hiroto walked towards him. It took him a minute to recognize the man.

"Oh you have got to be kidding. The undisputed _worst_ singer in Kumo asked for me by name?"

"Oi!" said Bee.

"Aren't you that same guy who also followed me to Jiji's a few years back and couldn't use stealth to save his life? Your hiding place was so obvious it was sad!" said Hiroto.

Bee could tell the kid didn't mean anything of it, he was just being blunt. It was something the blind man taught him early on. If you can't be nice, be blunt to the point they leave you alone.

Bee grinned, as he tested the kid's sword skills against his own. Hiroto was good, almost prodigy level, but he needed someone who knew what he was doing to take it to the next stage. His taijutsu was flawless and damn hard to counter. His ninjutsu was good, but was limited to what he could afford in scrolls. His genjutsu, passable. His fuinjutsu, which he tested as a lark, was beyond what most genin could pull off.

Hiroto had a strange knack for removing seals though. Apparently the old man he trained with had one and it had taken three years to work out a counter.

Bee didn't even know how to test the kid's healing jutsu, so he could just pawn him off on the medic nins.

He grinned. This kid was good...he saw no reason to force him to deal with idiots until he was chunin.

* * *

"Jiji! I finally became a genin!" shouted Hiroto.

"What?"

"During the usual six-month evaluation one of the jounins asked for me. Said he was impressed with my sword skills. Now I can finally take on missions!" said Hiroto.

"Legal ones, at any rate," muttered the old man.

Kumo's orphanage had a rather unique system for the kids to earn pocket money when they were old enough to understand math. For the civilians who didn't want to go through the hassle of a legal mission, which put money back into the Kumo mainstream, they posted ads in the orphanages. The payout was lower, but they didn't have to write mission reports as the result.

The Raikage only allowed it for one reason. All the ads were for D ranks that anyone could do and they were never allowed outside the village. So the clanless kids could do the dishes and all the other rather boring chores for cash and the genin would get more time to train.

It was an imperfect system, but it was a hell of a lot better than what Konoha did by forcing all new genin to do such monotonous tasks until they earned the right for a C rank.

"Who's your teacher?"

"The Raikage's brother Bee. I swear to Inari if he starts to rap I am going to shut his tenketsu off!"

"Go ahead and try little man," said a voice behind him.

"GAH! Bee-sensei?!" said Hiroto, nearly having a heart attack.

"What? You thought I would let my new student go outside the village without finding out about the people he associates with? Give me some credit here!" said Bee grinning.

"So you are Kira Bee. I can only hope the rumors of your rhymes were exaggerated...but then again I heard about the destruction that outdoor concert caused five years ago," said the old man.

"What I would like to know is why I've never seen you in the village before. A blind man would attract attention, especially if he knows taijutsu well enough to teach it."

"For the love of... I have no idea why people keep calling me blind. I can see perfectly well, it's just I hate it when people stare at my eyes!" he said irritated.

"Your eyes are so pale and you can't see the pupils. Of course people think you're blind," countered Hiroto annoyed.

Bee was started to connect the dots.

A body that was never found. A man who lives alone and has no name who can teach taijutsu that has never been seen before in Kumo that involves shutting off tenketsu. A seal removed by a kid that was placed on the forehead.

All of this pointed to one thing, and one thing only.

Hiroto's grumpy teacher was the missing and long since presumed dead Hiashi Hyuga.

His brother was going to have kittens when Bee finally told him.


	23. Fate in the Clouds Chapter 2

_**Just to be clear here, since many of you were confused: I KNOW Hizashi was the one to go to Kumo. According to Canon, Hizashi took Hiashi's place. So in the minds of the Kumo nin, he IS Hiashi. I'm just showing that by calling him Hiashi until they clear up the misconception.**_

* * *

Bee wasn't expecting his brother's reaction to the news of what _really_ happened to the Hyuga who had been brought to Kumo after the mess with the kidnapping ten years ago. Hiroto was roughly the same age as the girl they tried to kidnap around that time.

It was probably why Hiashi took to the kid. Bee had put off telling his brother for years, in order to get Hiroto's skills up to par before his brother did something stupid.

His brother reacted exactly how he feared.

He blasted Bee out of the office in a fit of rage at the fact that his brother learned the actual fate of the Hyuga who had been brought to Kumo and never mentioned it sooner.

The fact was that Hiroto was scheduled to join the chunin exams in Konoha this year, since it had taken three years before Bee was comfortable in letting him try the exams. The first time around was a nightmare, since the two he was stuck working with got him kicked out by the second exam.

If Bee was right, then the fact Hiashi was still alive and had trained Hiroto would open a whole new mess to deal with. The fact the man didn't remember a thing about who he actually was, was actually a blessing since it meant that Konoha couldn't claim they had deliberately kept him in Kumo to breed with others.

The fact that they only recently found out he was even alive was in their favor as well.

"I'll let him go, but take the Hyuga with you if he's willing. If we're lucky this might solve more problems than it's already caused."

"And get the Hyuga clan off our backs about that mess the previous Raikage caused," said Bee bitterly. The Hyuga Fiasco had been the last straw. Two months after that, his brother took out the previous Raikage and his advisers who had suggested it and took over.

With the all clear to take Hiroto and Hiashi to Konoha for the exam, all that was left was convincing the Hyuga to go along with it.

Hiashi glared at Bee, but agreed on one condition. He would go to Konoha for as long Hiroto would be there...as long as Bee didn't rap in his house anymore or bug him for help with his taijutsu and chakra control.

He still didn't get why Bee had Hiroto pack anything he would miss in the house before they left.

* * *

"Passport and reason for visit," said the chunin at the gate bored.

Hiroto handed his first, and Bee handed over his and Hiashi's which had a fake name on it. They didn't want the Hyuga clan up in arms about the fact he was back the minute they stepped in the village.

Hiashi had his blindfold on like usual. After so many years it was hard for him to go out in public without it. Hiroto didn't think anything of it, since his teacher rarely took it off anyway except to wash it. He had only seen his eyes once and that was it.

It was Hiroto who stared at the people who had lavender eyes so pale that it was easy for someone who didn't know about them to assume they were blind. The way they maneuvered in the crowd said otherwise though.

Once he knew where the hotel was for the exam which was in three days, he asked Bee if he could explore the village for a bit.

"Go ahead, but don't cause any trouble, and for kami's sake don't get on the bad side of anyone who looks like him!" said Bee.

"Is this about that fiasco the last Raikage caused?"

"Idiot tried to kidnap a Hyuga. The team failed, and they sent someone in her stead to appease the greedy bastard."

"Jiji."

Bee nodded.

Hiashi was busy reading and wasn't paying any attention to their conversation.

"So you're afraid they'll take offense to the fact we brought him back?"

"No, I'm afraid they'll be pissed we didn't say anything sooner. That clan has a grudge against the village since the incident."

"So avoid pale eyes. Got it."

* * *

Hiroto ended up running into Konoha genin anyway when he saw a couple of Sand genin harassing what was obviously an Academy student.

So he did what he usually did to bullies. He whocked him upside the head and kept the kid from falling on his butt.

"You okay kid?"

"Yeah! Thanks mister!"

The pink haired genin took one look at his headband and gasped.

"What're Kumo and Suna genin doing here?"

"Chunin exam," said Hiroto with a shrug.

"Huh?" asked the blond.

"Every six months there's a chunin exam in one of the major villages. This time it's Konoha. At least that's why I'm here," said Hiroto.

"Same for us," said the sandy haired blond girl from Suna.

"Does that include Red in the tree?" asked Hiroto.

"Gaara!" yelped the girl.

Gaara was roughly Hiroto's age, and he carried a massive gourd on his back. He had the kanji for love on his forehead and he looked like he was an insomniac.

"Well this is beyond awkward. Just out of curiosity, is anyone else up for ramen? They don't have any decent restaurants in Kumo and I can't ever seem to get it right," asked Hiroto.

The Konoha blond brightened up immediately at the word.

"I know a great place!" he said cheerfully.

"First round's on me!" said Hiroto.

The blond cheered and so did the chibi patrol. The pink haired girl grimaced. The Suna nin went on their own way, but Hiroto noticed the odd look the red head gave him.

* * *

Hiroto was having a blast chatting with Naruto about pranks. When he saw the Sexy Jutsu, the first thing on his mind was...

"Dude! You have _got_ to teach me that! The sheer amount of chaos I could inflict would totally be worth the ass kicking from the girls!" said Hiroto. Naruto beamed at him.

Hiroto ignored the glares the Hyuga clan were giving him, even when Naruto picked up on it with confusion.

"Why are the Hyuga glaring at you? They normally reserve those looks for, well, me!" said Naruto.

"Ah, yeah, about that... My teacher told me in no uncertain terms to 'avoid the pale eyes' after our previous Raikage did something so monumentally stupid that Konoha refuses to make a new peace treaty with us."

"Are you talking about the incident where two supposed Kumo nin tried to kidnap Hanabi's sister Hinata when she was three?" asked the kid Hiroto had helped.

Finding out he had prevented Suna from pissing off the Third Hokage for bullying his grandson had been a shock.

"Yeah. Want to hear something really weird my teacher told me though? When all was said and done no one had a clue where the body went. Even when the representatives from Konoha asked about it, they admitted that it was never found. In fact they never found any evidence that the man was even _in_ Kumo, and they found the people who were supposed to work on it," said Hiroto.

"What does that mean?" asked Naruto.

"It means we have no idea what happened to the Hyuga who was selected to take the girl's place, or even if he's alive. Believe me, seeing someone with pale eyes able to shut off tenketsu would be a big deal in Kumo. We place a lot of emphasis on clans there for some reason."

"What's that mean?"

"Clanless orphans have a harder time getting promoted, unless they're really good at something. Hell, in the orphanage, we had this messenger board that gave the equivalent to Konoha's D ranks so the orphans could earn a little pocket money. We spend most of our times either training or doing C ranks."

"Sounds like it would be a lot more fun that what we do. Kakashi doesn't even really train us, just dumps a D rank on us. I mean Sakura-chan can barely do the basics!" said Naruto sagely.

"I have an idea! How about a little sparring before the exams? No jutsu, nothing too damaging, just straight out taijutsu. It's a real pain finding anyone who can keep up with me in Kumo."

"Sure!"

Naruto didn't seem to find it odd that he was talking to Hiroto like another Konoha genin. He was just that friendly and Hiroto was really nice. He didn't see a Kumo nin, he just saw a new friend.

* * *

Kakashi wasn't the only one staring when he saw the Kumo headband sparring with Konoha Leaf.

The Kumo genin's taijutsu looked extremely familiar, and he was actually correcting a few things Naruto did without thinking about it.

Kakashi was more worried as to why a Kumo genin was using what was clearly Jyuken strikes without the chakra.

"You're not half bad fox boy!"

"You're better than Sasuke!" grinned Naruto. He was enjoying the sparring match with the Kumo nin.

Hiroto grinned at him. He liked this kid, who reminded him of a younger, less annoying version of his teacher Bee.

He felt a bit disappointed to leave Naruto to his team, but was heartened by the fact that he would eventually run into the kid again later.

It wasn't until he found another genin with pale lavender eyes and a rather nasty scowl on his face that he had any real trouble.

"Look pale eyes, I don't want any trouble. I have been told specifically to avoid anyone from your clan."

"I don't care about that. I want to know if what you said about the Hyuga selected to take the place of Hinata-sama was true."

"Well yeah. Bee-sensei mentioned it off hand that the man they sent was never actually found and that the medics that were supposed to operate on him were all knocked out. There wasn't any physical evidence he was even there, not even a single drop of blood. They have no idea what happened either. The Raikage was replaced because of that mess and several advisers were killed for convincing him to try and kidnap a Hyuga," said Hiroto, keeping his hands in full view of the genin.

He could see the ANBU who were guarding all the foreign genin watching the confrontation. As long as he made it clear he wasn't going to start something, he wouldn't get kicked out. He wasn't an idiot.

Hiroto was going to back up slowly when he sensed the old man show up.

"Hiroto, get back to the hotel now. Bee is driving me up the wall with those poor excuses of a rhyme," said the old man gruffly.

The effect was instantaneous. The genin stiffened, and looked at the old man hard. He couldn't see the man's eyes, and he seemed far too familiar.

"You got it Jiji. See you pale eyes," said Hiroto, eager to leave.

"Hiroto, who was that?" asked Hiashi.

"Some genin who overheard my comment about the body of the guy sent after that fiasco never being found."

Hiashi slapped him upside the head hard.

"You idiot! You're not supposed to speak of village matters to foreigners! What if it had been an S class secret? You could be endangering yourself and your village with that loose tongue!" he barked.

"Yeah, but this wasn't a village secret so much as an odd rumor I heard around town," said Hiroto, rubbing his head.

Besides, he ran it with Bee who agreed it was the perfect way to lay groundwork for returning Hiashi to his real family. Plus he really wanted to meet this Naruto, as he had a few suspicions about the kid.

It was the last name apparently.

* * *

"Neji, what's this I hear about you challenging a Kumo genin in the middle of the road?" growled Hiashi.

"Uncle, don't take this the wrong way, but where were you about twenty to thirty minutes ago?"

"I've been in here all day filling out paperwork. Why?" he asked suspiciously. Neji noted that one of the other Branch members nodded in confirmation.

"Because I swear on our family name I just saw you wearing a blindfold and blank headband walking away with the same Kumo genin I confronted about a rumor he started," said Neji flatly.

"What?" said Hiashi in shock.

"According to the Kumo genin, my father was never found in Kumo, even though the medics scheduled to remove his eyes were found. Shortly after the Raikage was replaced, they still have no idea where the body went or what happened to it. And while I was spying on that genin during a sparring match with the Uzumaki kid, he was fighting with what were clearly Jyuken strikes without chakra," said Neji.

"Are you positive it was Jyuken?"

"There wasn't any mistaking that form. He was using the Gentle Fist with precision, as if he had been taught by an full practitioner."

"...I will have a word with the Hokage tomorrow. Neji, don't say a word of this to anyone, particularly the Elders."

"Understood Uncle."

* * *

Right before Naruto and his team were to go into the building, Hiroto walked up to them.

"So you guys got the all clear to join the exam too?"

"Hey, where's your team?" asked Naruto.

"Haven't got one. I'm apprenticed, since I had trouble working with the kids in my class. Anyway, are you guys planning on going through the school?"

The pink haired one nodded carefully, not sure whether to trust this foreigner.

"...You guys do know how to walk up trees without your hands right?"

"Yup! About the only thing Kakashi's taught us!" said Naruto.

"Then why don't you walk up the building to the room? It's what I planned on doing, since I saw that pale eyed kid from earlier go in with his team. I'd like to avoid him as long as possible if it's all the same to you," said Hiroto.

Seeing the collective blink of Team 7, it was clear that the thought hadn't occurred to them.

"Is that even allowed?"

"I saw three teams, one from Konoha, Iwa and Kusa walk up the other side of the building into an open window, where I can only assume the classroom is not more than ten minutes ago. I don't think they really care how you get in, just so long as you're on time," said Hiroto flatly.

"I'm in!" said Naruto.

The three followed Hiroto, and he pointed at a window. Naruto went first, and he quickly confirmed Hiroto's story. The other three promptly walked up the building and into the room without going through the floors.

Because of him they missed Kakashi and (thankfully) Gai's genjutsu which inflicted mental trauma to some unlucky genin a floor down.

* * *

Naruto grinned as he introduced his new friend Hiroto to the other Konoha genin. Hinata was understandably nervous until she noted that Hiroto was making it a point to avoid her like the plague. When asked why by her Inuzuka teammate, Hiroto cheerfully gave him the same answer he gave Naruto.

He was under orders to avoid the pale eyed clan to avoid problems.

Of course that didn't stop the ever sadistic Ibiki from putting him next to a still terrified Hinata. Or from putting him in front of a still livid Neji intent on boring holes through his head.


	24. Some Hearts Chapter Three

Robin soon became a regular sight around Asgard, sometimes hanging off of Loki. It was clear to anyone who saw the two that the god of Mischief was falling for the woman, hard. Robin clearly didn't object to his presence either.

Four months into her arrival in Asgard, Loki finally worked up the nerve to kiss her. Hel had given him a great deal of information about her avatar, so he knew that she was completely untouched. She had never been on a date, let alone been kissed before. Even after the false wedding with a man she didn't love, he had never touched her or taken her to his bed. His mother insured of that by casting a nasty hex at him behind his back that made certain he would never feel anything for his former rival.

Robin's blush made the entire thing worth it. For Odin it meant that it was only a matter of time before Loki fell head over heels with the magus and made her his wife. Days became weeks, weeks became months, until finally Loki realized his full feelings for Hel's Avatar.

A full year after Robin's arrival in Asgard, Loki asked her to be his wife. They were married a month later.

* * *

It had been over a year since Robin Potter-Black went missing and her 'husband' became a nameless paste on the sidewalk. While some believed she had remarried and had chosen to live a quiet life outside Britain, those who knew her well before the betrayal knew that the disappearance of all magical creatures (including goblins, who had left a large amount of traps for the magical world if they wanted their precious gold in the tunnels) and the missing magical bloodlines meant only one inescapable fact.

This was the calm before the storm. A storm which would encompass the magical communities and rock it to the core. Some historical scholars believed that her vanishing and the disappearance of the creatures meant that a natural phenomena that happened every time a magical society rose to the peak of it's power was about to occur within a few years. This occurrence was considered the true reason for the downfall of Atlantis, Camelot and many other magically driven societies.

It was called many things. The Purge. The Renewal. The Cleansing. All pointed to one fact.

Whenever this phenomena happened, magic levels dropped to almost nonexistent levels and entire generations were wiped out in the span of a few short years. The fact was that the Purge had never happened since the Dark Ages, when muggles held the witch hunts and had jumped ahead in terms of advancement.

They were due for the event, and nothing would stop it. The fact all the magical creatures, which were often used for wands, spoke that it would happen soon.

* * *

Robin and Loki set foot on Earth for the first time in two years. A lot had happened during that short time. Robin had completely removed all the bindings placed on her by the Ministry. She was now a proud magus, married to a god who was magically powerful in his own right and had no use for her powers.

(The fact that the twins and what few people she even considered family approved of him was icing on the cake.)

Loki had changed a bit in two short years, and it had surprised those who had known him for centuries.

He no longer wanted to destroy Earth to piss off Thor. If his Robin wanted to do so, then he would assist her without question since she had more reason to hate humans than he did. While he was relatively calmer and more likely to be reasoned with, he had lost none of his cruelty. It was merely tempered by Robin's presence. The fact was that Robin had a vindictive streak to match his own.

This was going to be the week they watched all the chaos and anarchy occur from moving the magical Purge a few centuries ahead of schedule, with many blessings.

The Purge would drain all the pure bloods on Earth of their magic. The more inbred they were, the faster the drain. The muggleborns would lose their magic by the age of twenty. By that time they would assume that their magic had been the result of 'poltergeisting', a phenomena in which their mind caused the entire thing to happen.

Wards would come crumbling down like cheap paper walls, revealing the magical society to the suspicious and unforgiving muggle world. Many people would be in for a rude awakening as they found that magic would no longer hide them from the muggles, and that they would be unable to erase their presence. Magical artifacts would be left alone, but would wear down naturally. Entire libraries of spells would vanish without a trace thanks to the assistance of the house elf army Robin now possessed.

Once the magicals and the muggles were on equal footing once again, and the presence of the hidden societies was accepted she would return Hogwarts and the forest. It would be full of all the things a fledgling magical society would need.

Very few people would be spared from this purge. Of those spared, most would be taken from Earth personally by Robin and Loki.

That was the entire reason they had come a few days before the Purge was to begin.

They needed to rescue the few worth saving.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall took one look at her former student, who she had failed when she needed her the most. Her new husband radiated power, which broke the bindings that had been placed. She looked at them resigned and said "I suppose you are here to take your revenge for failing to save you."

"Now why would you assume that Professor?" asked Robin curious.

"I have blamed myself for not protecting you when you needed it most. I trusted that damn man against my better judgment about your placement with those things. I failed to warn you about him paying off the two who claimed to be your friends. But most of all I failed to keep those confounded Ministry thugs from binding you to that foul boy. I'll accept whatever punishment you deem fit. I know I'll never forgive myself for letting you down," said McGonagall.

Robin's husband grinned wildly.

"I can see why you insisted we come to her first. I like her."

"She was the first person who came to mind. Professor, I never once blamed you. Among the teachers at that school, you were my favorite by far. You never treated me like a hero and you were always strict but fair. When they grabbed me at the final battle, you were among the scant few who even tried to get to me in order to stop them from placing the bindings. I saw you crying your heart out at that sham of a wedding."

"Why are you here? When they find out you're back..." McGonagall said worriedly. She didn't care for herself, but for a student she had failed so miserably.

"I'm here to offer you a second chance. I am going to cleanse the magic of this world...and I wanted you to be the first person spared from the shock of losing your magic. Very few people are going to be saved from that event."

McGonagall put down her glass of hard scotch. Her student still cared about her, even after everything that had happened to her. She was being given a second chance for redemption.

"What do I need to do?"

"Just pack whatever you need. Anyone with magic blood will be drained if they step foot on this world for the next few generations. The magical communities are going to be laid bare to the muggles by the time the Cleansing is over with.

McGonagall packed everything she owned by hand. A few things Loki poked at with curiosity, but she didn't tell him to leave them be. Once she was done, the cottage was relatively empty aside from the furniture. Robin took her to a small area and sent her via the bifrost to the world where Hel had left Hogwarts and the magical creatures. Andromeda, Teddy, Narcissa and the others had taken refuge in the school and left to themselves for the most part.

The centaurs did bring food for the people in the castle, but aside from that they didn't interact much.

* * *

Hermione was the second person they visited. Five minutes of being in her presence, and Robin obliviated her friend in disgust. The girl had become completely brainwashed by the magical world and no longer kept up with her muggle heritage. Loki was completely disgusted with the girl.

* * *

Neville Longbottom was with four of the people Robin wanted to give a second chance. They were among those who had protested the most about her bindings and the fake marriage.

Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood and Daphne Greengrass were all visiting Neville after hearing the news that McGonagall had gone missing.

Once they got over the surprise of Robin's return and her new husband, they quickly agreed to be relocated. They had seen the state of the magical world, and knew it needed a shaking up. Since Robin got along with what was left of their families, they were moved as well.

The number of people spared was a mere drop in the number of those who would be shaken.

Flitwick, Sprout, Madam Pomphrey and some of their colleagues were taken from Earth. The old castle, which had been empty for many months, was quickly filling up.

Quite a number of squibs and muggleborns, who had never believed in the Ministry, Dumbledore or Voldemort were removed from Earth. Nearly a thousand people were removed, they would become the basis of the new magical world. All Robin had told them was that she freed them from oppression with one main rule.

Don't let the bloodlines become as strong as it was on Earth. If she found them inbreeding she would exile them back to Earth in a heartbeat to lose their magic.

* * *

One month after Robin's return, the Ministry finally tracked her down. Rumors of her appearance had sent the Aurors into a tizzy. They had standing orders to capture her at any cost. If they couldn't do that, they were to kill her.

They ended up finding her in Hogsmeade with man who could have been her brother...or her husband. They had matching bands on their right hands. A pair of snake rings with different stones. Red for Robin, green for the man.

Robin was sipping her tea calmly while they were surrounded. The man was just as unconcerned about as she was. A long piece of wood was next to her. The cloak and stone were around her neck.

"Robin Potter-Black ne Malfoy. Under the authority of Minister Rufus Scrimgour, you are under the arrest for the murder of your husband and the disappearances of several prominent pure blood families. Come quietly and you won't be beaten too badly," sneered one of the aurors. A Slytherin if she wasn't mistaken.

"What do you think dear?" asked Robin.

"If these are the best that Ministry can do, I can see why you hate them."

"Pathetic inbred scum," sneered Robin.

"Shall we?" asked Loki.

"Indeed."

Robin stood up from her table, with Loki right behind her.

She looked at the assembled aurors with a sneer on her face.

"Inbred swine of the magical communities. I am here to inform you that the reign of magic has ended. It is time for the Renewal of Power. Your abuse of your gifts has caused the gods to decree that the Cleansing of the Magical Blood shall occur ahead of schedule. Since I'm not a complete bitch, a few have been selected to carry on the gift on a completely new world to be returned once the Purge has run it's course. Consider this my payment for the way you have tried to use me like a puppet. Now my love, shall we get going?"

"Indeed my darling Robin. I do believe our little vacation to your home was most enlightening, but I would like a crack at those books you liberated from those fools," smirked Loki. He was enjoying this way too much.

Robin took a light bow, grabbed her staff, and slammed it on the ground.

The quake from the strike caused the aurors to lose their footing. By the time they got back up, the two were gone.

They attempted to apparate, only to discover that once they reached their offices, they were unable to do so again.

The Purge had begun. For every spell witches and wizards cast, they would never be able to do so again. Nothing they did would bring back that feeling.

Robin and Loki enjoyed the chaos they had started in Diagon. They were both having an ice cream in front of the only shop that sold it.

When word got out that Robin, the witch that started the decline of magic, could be found in Diagon, the Aurors actually planned their response before they confronted her. One came armed with something that could rewrite history.

In the hopes of killing her through what the muggleborns called a paradox, one of the Aurors, who had been a former Unspeakable, came armed with what little Time Sand they could retrieve from the cabinet that Robin's group destroyed in fifth year.

"Dark Lady Robin Black, you are charged with destroying several prominent lines and attempting to steal the magic of the entire European continent. How do you plead?" said Dean, one of the few people she recognized.

"My my, they do think highly of themselves, don't they Robin? She didn't reclaim just _your_ magic, little wizard. She reclaimed _all_ the magic in the world. And by this time tomorrow, the entire magical race will know it was your fault that this happened. Your pure blood mania has caused the downfall of an era," said Loki smugly.

Dean flinched at his gaze. Even wizards could recognize a god.

"Frankly I'm wondering why they're even here. Any spell they cast will never be used again by their paltry wands. For each spell cast, your magic will be drained and never refilled by your core again. So why exactly aren't you lot making the most of what is left of your spell casting?" asked Robin amused.

The former Unspeakable waited for her to drop her guard. Time Sand, when outside a time turner, was wildly erratic. He had only one shot at her, and he had to make it count. No matter how this ended, he knew that going up against a god was going to cost him his life.

Robin smirked at them, completely unfazed by their paltry threats. Hanging around Loki had done wonders to her personality. Right as she was about to give her own witty retort to their shallow boasting, the one man who hadn't said a word struck. He threw golden sand at her, and her senses screamed to get out of the way. She pushed Loki away from the sand, but it still struck her directly. In a flash of light she vanished, and Loki turned his angry gaze at them.

None of them would return alive to tell what had happened. And Loki was one of the greatest sorcerers of Asgard.

He was about to start a killing rampage when he was stopped by Hel.

"_**You need not concern yourself, Father. Your lover is awaiting you on Asgard as we speak."**_

"_How? What was that golden colored sand she was struck with?"_

"_**Time Sand. She was sent several years into the past, at least three whole years before your attack on the city with the Chitauri."**_

"_How is she alive? Time travel is frowned upon because you can erase yourself."_

"_**Unless you know that little quirk and avoid it. Her bond with you is what saved her. She is no longer the person she used to be, and the physical changes from marrying a god have affected her enough that she **_**can**_ **be in two places at once. If you don't believe me, look up the name Twilight Enchantress. She has opted to be part of the same group you fought."**_

Loki soothed his anger enough to look up the name, and sure enough there was his wife. Robin looked annoyed, but definitely happier than before.

Loki decided he had enough fun on Earth. He had to see his Robin.

* * *

Robin blinked. Whatever that was, it was clearly a magical artifact. In fact...it almost looked like the sand from the time turners.

_**'It is time sand. That...wizard...hit you with time sand from the cabinet you destroyed during that disastrous mission.'**_

"Just great. What year is it?"

_**'Look it up yourself.'**_

Robin found a newspaper and swore. The latest headlines was that Tony Stark had been found after being captured. And that was nearly four or five years ago.

"Bloody hell... Wait, does this mean the bindings are back?"

_**'No. Your body began to change into an Asgardian the moment you lay with my Father. The power it would take the bind a god has long since been lost, unless you want them back. In fact, due to your animal form, the All-Father has seen fit to add you to the ranks of the gods. Your name is Twilight, the Goddess of Rebirth.'**_

"Huh... didn't know I got an actual title. So what now?"

"_**Well, you could always wait a few years and meet up with Loki again. Or...you could save that godfather of yours by moving him early."**_

"No, not at the moment. That planet is a barren wasteland in this time, and last I checked he was in the Bahamas. He deserves his vacation. Besides, moving him would involve the All-Father too early, and I don't want to explain to him who I am while my younger human self fights in a war. However...there is an alternative."

_**'What do you have in mind, my Avatar?'**_

"A chance to test my abilities...and surprise Loki at the same time. He kept complaining about the green one, did he not? Why not see how good I've gotten since becoming a god by testing my strength during the same battle that earned my freedom?"

_**'...To do that you'll need to get to the city...and avoid the men that are trying to sneak up on you.'**_

"What?" said Robin, whirling around. Apparently she forgot talking to yourself in public was a bad sign. She smirked.

With a loud cry, she jumped with a flip, avoiding the men who came to take her to an asylum. Before she even landed, she transformed into her proper form.

A beautiful phoenix with the color of the setting sun appeared and flew off.

The first man looked to his friend.

"Say nothing and go get drunk?" he suggested.

"Agreed."


	25. Megalodon Terror Chapter One

Harry downed the potion his godfather had sent him. Shortly after learning Sirius was safe, he had asked him where he could find the animagus potion.

Sirius had done better than send him the recipe, he had sent the actual potion!

It took a moment to take effect, and after seeing his two animal forms he blinked in disbelief.

_'Huh...who knew my old hobby of reading paleontology books would turn out like this?'_

Harry had two secrets his best friends had never found out.

One, he was deathly afraid of large bodies of water (due to an incident where he nearly drowned while on the only vacation the Dursleys had ever taken him on). And two, which would have Hermione in shock if she ever learned of it, he had a real interest in paleontology. Specifically marine animals that once went extinct.

His personal favorite animal happened to be one of his animagus forms.

Sirius would laugh himself sick if he had any idea what he had just unleashed on the poor unsuspecting school.

* * *

The twins read the missive, and had unholy smirks of pure evil on their faces the rest of the day. Harry had found the perfect cure for his hydrophobia and a way to scare the living hell out of everyone in the school.

One of his animal forms happened to be purely aquatic, but would scare anyone who saw it completely shitless. The fact that it had been extinct for less than two hundred thousand years was only a bonus, since it meant _no one_ would be able to react fast enough.

Which was why Harry had gone the extra mile and bought the twins a state of the art camera for the both of them, complete with spells that would allow them to use the things in Hogwarts.

They couldn't wait to see how the teachers and students reacted!

* * *

Harry blackmailed his uncle into dropping him off at the nearest Marine Biology lab. It wasn't hard, particularly after Harry had caught the man wearing a dress and had been quick enough to take enough photos that he couldn't talk his way out of it.

Hedwig was more than happy to maim his uncle for trying to reach into her cage.

Vernon, when he realized that he could get rid of his freakish nephew, had given him enough muggle cash that he could live out his summer in a hotel if he wanted to.

Which Harry did, smirking the entire time.

Harry spent the rest of his summer (after assuring the twins that he really didn't feel like going to the world cup anyway, they took Neville instead) at the biology lab learning about great white sharks.

Surprised to find a boy with an actual love for the creatures, Harry's summer passed very enjoyably for him. Particularly when he proved he not only knew what he was saying, (despite any school records, which he covered up by claiming to be home schooled) but he fully intended to pursue a career in the field, provided he had proper backing once he went to college.

Luckily for him, there happened to be a few world renowned shark experts willing to help him out.

All in all, Harry actually enjoyed his summer vacation for a change. Even if his 'dog' (Sirius had shown up a week after Harry had told him about leaving Privet Drive, and in need of someone to help him with the transformation process) was extremely nervous around Harry's new...friends. Finding out one's godson had no problem getting into a tank with a live, and very cranky shark tended to give one gray hairs.

Well...so long as the water wasn't more than waist deep, and he had someone beside him the whole time anyway. Harry still had problems with his hydrophobia, but he was slowly getting over it.

Then it all went down the drain when he had to return to school.

* * *

"Harry! Where have you been all summer?" demanded Hermione.

"Learning about my favorite subject. And possibly a career choice once I'm finally free of Dumbledore."

Hermione tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hermione, I was perfectly safe. It's not like Death Eaters are going to be looking for me in a muggle setting full of technology and scary animals that can eat them."

"Harry..." she said in a warning tone.

"Fine. I was hanging around sharks all summer. Happy?"

She gave him a look.

"Nice try. Now where were you?"

Harry gave her an annoyed look.

"I was hanging around sharks all summer, learning about how they live in the ocean. I even got to go on a boat a few times, but I never managed to get off it."

_'On the plus side, I can now manage to go into a large pool without any of my panic attacks...'_

Hermione huffed, not believing for a moment Harry actually spent his summer with sharks.

Ron could honestly care less.

The twins threw their arms around Harry, grinning.

"By the way guys, I know someone who will not only give us _that_ potion, but will walk us through the steps. He also loves pranks."

"Any specific target?"

"Snape...and Dumbledore."

The twins had devilish grins on their faces. Then Harry asked them innocently if they wanted a preview of his animal form before the real show started.

They smirked and agreed. Sirius had smoothed over a few things so Harry could get it right, but sometime during the middle of the summer when he was finally learning how to swim properly, he had pulled off the perfect transformation into his favorite animal form.

The other happened to be an aquatic basilisk, which was often mistaken for a sea dragon. He honestly had no idea there were two types of that beast.

Unlike the Greek basilisk (which was what Harry faced second year), the Scandinavian basilisk wasn't actually venomous at all. Where it lacked in toxin it made up with one of the strongest acids in the world. Capable of rendering steel into a pile of noxious goo in seconds.

The fact that Harry already had Greek basilisk venom from the creature in the Chamber meant he could use _both_ types of venom. The only problem he had with the acid-type was the aim of his spray.

Sirius, when he had seen his godson's first animal form, had pissed himself in terror. Then when Harry turned back (it had taken him fifteen minutes to figure out _how_) he had laughed himself hoarse after Harry told him exactly what he planned to do with the new form.

He was going to literally scare the crap out of Dumbledore and the other teachers. And take plenty of photos for the event.

Needless to say the scientists were quite baffled as to why they never saw any more fish near the boat for the rest of the trip. Not even jellyfish came near them.

* * *

Harry, upon learning about the Tournament, cursed worse than Dr. Tanaka after he had managed to turn the man's hair pink through his food.

For a Japanese scientist, Tanaka swore worse than an American sailor when denied his beer at port.

(He later learned that the man was only Japanese by blood, and that he had been raised in Hawaii by a Naval family. His father apparently had some issues.)

Needless to say the twins were highly impressed, and gave him a standing ovation for stunning the teachers into total shocked silence.

Harry grinned, and took a bow.

"And for my next trick, I shall get everyone from Hogwarts to the foreign students to literally shit their pants in shock and horror. But not tonight."

The twins had taken one look at his animal form, and had been suitably impressed. After they had pranked Harry thoroughly for scaring the living shit out of them. Then again, few people would have managed to stay in control of their bowels when faced with that kind of monster coming at them with such huge teeth and a jaw a man could walk into without bending over too much.

Strangely enough, whenever he was in animal form Harry lost all of his fear of water. Which meant he could sit close to the lake and not have a severe panic attack that would land him with Madam Pomphrey. She was the only person aside from the twins who was aware of his phobia.

The twins had actually learned of it quite by accident. They had thought it funny to toss Harry into the lake second year, and found out rather quickly that A) Harry couldn't swim worth a damn, and B) he was absolutely terrified of the lake.

They had quickly apologized and had afterward given him swimming lessons in the closest thing to a pool the school had.

Which turned out to be the prefects bathroom. They got in courtesy of Percy, who had been oblivious to the twins watching him.

After that the three stole the password every year, because the twins knew that helping Harry get over his phobia was worth any detention they got if caught.

Which only happened once, but Cedric Diggory at least was sympathetic towards the fact that the twins were only trying to help Harry out. Well, that and the twins promised to leave the bathroom alone if they were pranking the prefects.

* * *

Harry was bored out of his mind. He didn't want to be waiting for some foreign students. Hermione had badgered him with the help of McGonagall, and now here he was.

The twins were at least standing beside him and keeping him from falling asleep in boredom.

When the new students arrived, it was clear they had no idea how to handle British weather. Either they were overdressed and sweating like pigs or they were under dressed and had to be rushed inside.

It was the Bulgarian's mode of transport that had him grinning. They had arrived in a ship, and not just any ship, but an old galleon that should have sunk over a hundred years ago.

Naturally he knew exactly what he could do to prank the Bulgarian students. After he learned about their ship of course.

* * *

Viktor Krum was surprised to find that the famous Boy-who-lived was interested in their ship. And knew what most of the things on it were. The reason why was even more amusing though.

Harry had plans to become a marine biologist, and there were several old ships that he had plans to find and study. Mostly because they were in shark infested waters.

Upon learning that Harry Potter was also a fan of large sharks, the two struck up a friendship, to the ire of Harry's friend Ron. Neither of them paid him any mind.

Instead of going to the big ceremony, which would have given him a monster headache on top of the migraine he already had, Harry decided to hide.

He made it very plain to his housemates that he thought the whole tournament was boring and he had no intention of joining in the nonsense.

Which was why he decided to do Snape a favor, and managed to land himself in detention. Snape seemed to be relieved not to have to go to the opening ceremony as Harry was.

When he learned why the boy had decided to ditch it, he had a strange look.

"Why?"

"Because I have a headache and I think this whole tournament is stupid. They could have found another way to foster relations between schools."

Snape paused in his grading, and actually looked at Harry.

"You mean to tell me the famous boy-who-lived wants nothing to do with a tournament for the seventh years?"

"I can't really use the fame I have, and I have no need for the prize money. What reason could I possibly have to take part in it?"

Snape thought about that, and realized he had a point. Harry had absolutely no reason to take part in the tournament. He had every reason not to take part though.

Without warning the door burst open, and the headmaster looked furious.

"Harry, did you enter your name in...?"

Harry blanched.

"Are you kidding me?! Who the bloody hell was stupid enough to enter my name in this stupid thing?!" said Harry in horror.

Snape realized that Harry wasn't acting. He really had no intention of joining the tournament.

"Harry, did you have an older student place your name in the goblet?"

"Are you _insane_?! I want nothing to do with this stupid thing! Why would I put my name in a tournament I want nothing to do with?!"

* * *

By morning the entire school was abuzz about Harry cursing out the Headmaster for not allowing him to drop out of the tournament.

Harry really wasn't happy when Ron decided to turn on him out of the misguided belief that Harry wanted to be in the tournament.

A few people wanted to know why, after being selected, Harry's owl Hedwig kept dropping books off.

When Dumbledore went to confiscate one, he found that he could barely read a word in three. It was a muggle book on animals, which included diagrams of the inside of the animal.

Naturally he was very confused as to why Harry was even reading it. And he was more than alarmed to find that the boy had no intention of remaining in the magical communities once he graduated school.

After that he tried to ban muggle books in the school...which met with more of a resistance than he had counted on.

Several muggleborn students (mostly Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs) had taken it upon themselves to do summer classes so they wouldn't be completely dependent on magic. Among these students was a certain bushy haired Gryffindor.

Upon learning the reason _why_ Dumbledore felt the need to restrict the books, they had been infuriated. Then Harry pointed out something that would start a landslide.

Since it was unlikely that anyone who wasn't a champion (he refused to be grouped with the three chosen and had publicly given any points he earned to Cedric who had at least volunteered for this madness) was really going to make a difference in the point margins this year, why not boycott the teachers?

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw all considered his proposition. It was likely that Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would get the house cup, considering the Quidditch season had been dropped. So why were they caring about the point war?

And just like that, students began ditching classes and heading straight to the library instead. Teachers were baffled when students began using spells that were very out of date instead of the assigned coursework.

And they couldn't deduct points because the children were actually learning...even if they did get detentions that no one would go to.

* * *

Harry was horrified to learn that the first task was dragons, and immediately warned Cedric.

Cedric paled, but at least stood up for Harry when Draco started to mock him. Harry honestly had no idea Cedric was so good at turning people into animals. Though he had to admit, Draco made a passable ferret even without the spell.

McGonagall would have chastised him, but the sad fact was Draco deserved it.

Besides, the twins were already complaining that Cedric had beaten them to the spell.

Harry was pale. He really, really didn't want to deal with a dragon, even if he had managed to unlock his second animal form. Sirius had been surprised at that, but then again his godson could turn into a giant sea monster from over a million years ago. A modern day sea dragon should prove no problem after that transformation.

Harry even had a way to explain his transformation. He was going to say the scientific name of the beast, down to the family name in Latin. It wasn't like anyone aside from a muggleborn raised in a house with a biologist would realize what he had said.

When Harry's turn came, he walked out, ducked the flames, and then pretended to cast a spell.

Within seconds his transformation was done, and where an angry fourteen year old boy had been was now an enormous hundred foot serpent with a cranky attitude. The flames that licked it's hide didn't harm it one bit, since the Scandinavian Basilisk tended to thrive in volcanic waters.

Harry hissed at the dragon, who reared back in surprise. A tense stand off began, and when Harry scooped up the fake egg, the dragon snapped at him.

The audience had been horrified to see a basilisk, but when no one died meeting it's gaze they realized that it wasn't a normal basilisk at all.

Harry slithered away from the nest, and the dragon relaxed. Clearly the snake wasn't after the real eggs, only the one she had perceived as dead.

Harry turned back and walked into the tent.

The others stared at him in shock.

"What?"

"Harry, how the hell did you turn into a basilisk and not kill anyone?" asked Cedric.

"Easy. I turned into the Scandinavian Basilisk."

"Huh?"

"The Scandinavian Basilisk is the aquatic twin of the Greek Basilisk, which was what Salazar Slytherin had put in his Chamber. It doesn't have the ability to kill with a glance, and it's venom is more acidic than toxic."

Seeing their confusion and disbelief, Harry waited until dinner to retrieve a book he had picked up in Knockturn. Apparently the Ministry had labeled it Dark solely because it described the cousins and scientific names of the magical beasts. The author was of course, a muggleborn, so none of the pure bloods could complain about it.

Upon reading about the Scandinavian Basilisk, the Ministry officials let off him. Even if they didn't notice the fact that all Harry had said was the scientific name of the beast.


	26. Mad Hatter and March Hare Chapter One

Two boys on opposite sides of the war. Two very different families.

Both of their fates changed because of their aunts.

One was insane, twisted beyond any chance of redemption by the power of darkness.

One was delusional, holding onto the belief that if she ignored her sister's world that it would leave her alone...despite her yearning to be part of it.

Two women changed the fates of these two boys.

* * *

Two days after Voldemort tried and _failed_ to kill Harry Potter, his maternal aunt took him to an air port and left him in the nearest shuttle to the colonies.

At the same time, Bellatrix Lestrange kidnapped her sleeping nephew and took him on a raid with her. He was never seen again.

The two infants are later found by a boy with amethyst eyes by the name of Kid. Kid was an orphan with no past, raised on the streets by his gang lead by a boy named Solo.

For the next four years, the two lived with Kid and the gang. They looked up to the older boy as a brother. Kid would read to them some nights about the stars, or a book he found lying in the streets called _'Alice in Wonderland'._

It was then that the two boys came up with their new names.

The young platinum blond boy with stormy gray eyes named himself the March Hare. His brother, with the emerald green eyes and black hair took the name Mad Hatter.

They were only five when the plague hit L2. Days later Duo (formerly known as Kid) and the two brothers were sent to the Maxwell Church orphanage.

A year later tragedy struck again, this time in the form of terrorists. Their older brother was sent to get a prototype mobile suit while they were held hostage.

They didn't doubt Duo's ability to steal things. He shared more than his share of meals with them. Three hours passed, and the two were starting to get worried.

Suddenly they heard something above them. It didn't sound good at all. All the children were being kept together while Father Maxwell and Sister Helen were being held separate. A pearl and green dome formed without warning over the children. The two brothers watched in horror as the Father and Sister were killed with the terrorists by a bomb.

Fifteen minutes later Duo arrived, piloting the suit. He was too late to save either of them.

Hatter and Hare walked out, carefully leading the other children through the wreckage. Some died from the smoke or from trying to move the burning debris.

Hatter grabbed Duo's hand, his own streaked with soot.

Hatter and Hare stayed with the dead bodies of Father Maxwell and Sister Helen while Duo let loose his rage upon the surviving terrorists. The children all watched in mute sorrow as Duo became a God of Death, taking revenge on the very people that had cause this tragedy to occur.

Hours later adults came and took the children away. Most were relocated to other colonies.

But after hearing the words of the children, no one went near Duo and his brothers.

So they stole upon a ship leaving for Earth. None of them had ever seen it that well, thanks to the film covering L2's biodome. They were found less than three hours later.

He called himself Doctor G.

He taught Duo and his two brothers (who were renamed in order to blend in better) Mark, formerly known as March Hare, and Micheal, formerly known as Mad Hatter, everything they would need to know how to survive.

It was his friend Howard who recognized Mark and Micheal's power for what it was.

Magic.

Howard taught Duo's brothers everything they would need later on. Much to his surprise, Duo also had magic, though not as much as his brothers.

Mark and Mike were natural Occulmens. And to his amusement, both had the ability to change their physical features with a little concentration.

Mark used it the most, often changing his hair color to appear more like his brothers. Mike used his to hide a scar that always caused headaches.

By the time they were nine, the three boys were skilled mechanics. Duo was the best, often finding new ways to push a machine further than the design specs would allow.

Mark found he had an odd talent to teleport items to Micheal when the boy needed it...though it depended on his mood where the item would appear.

If he was annoyed with Micheal, then it would drop on his head. If he got along with his brother, then it would drop into his waiting hand.

Most of the time Mark was annoyed with his brother...who had learned more swear words than any child should ever know from the Sweepers.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want to take my little brothers back to Earth?" asked Duo.

Howard nodded. It wasn't healthy for two boys to be stuck indoors all day. This way, G could focus on Duo and Duo wouldn't have to worry about Mark and Micheal.

Mark and Micheal would only go if their brother was okay with it.

Duo looked at Howard with serious eyes.

"Will they be able to call me?"

"At least once a month, if I can manage it," Howard replied. It wasn't that hard to hack into an OZ satellite for a phone call.

"If anything happens to them, will you swear to call me?"

"Anything life changing, I will call you immediately," said Howard.

"Good. Those two runts are the only family I have left."

"HEY!" they protested, though even they admitted to they were short.

It took less than a week before the brothers were willing to leave. Duo would remain with Doctor G, provided his brothers called him at least once a month.

Howard smuggled them onto his ship, and the two got their first look at Earth in years. Once they landed, Howard snuck them onto the nearest Sweeper vessel. The two promptly found a discarded laptop (which someone had decided to get rid of for being too old to use) and hacked into the nearest OZ satellite. Micheal was a natural hacker.

"_Hello from Earth!"_ the two chirped.

Duo's huge grin filled the screen. Trust the chibi twins to call him immediately upon landing. He rattled off Mother Hen list, only to hear his brothers chide him for being so worried.

They quickly developed a schedule. Once every two weeks they would hack into the satellites and call Duo. They would inform him of the interesting things they saw, and ask how his training went.

After that they helped around the ship, acting as the unofficial cabin boys.

Mostly it involved cleaning and minor repairs.

* * *

~_Mark, I need a socket wrench. This thing won't move without it.~ _ Micheal said through their link.

He swore later when Mark dropped it on his head, as usual. Ever since they came to Earth, Micheal had impressed the Sweepers with his wide array of swear words. Then again, they usually contributed to his vocabulary.

Mark was hanging upside down from the mast, tightening a bolt that had come loose. Once he was done, he grabbed the handle on his tool box and straightened his legs. The first time he did that he nearly gave the Sweepers a heart attack.

He righted himself, and popped onto the deck. The two of them had found an interesting trick where they could vanish and reappeared at will.

Howard called it 'Apparating', they called it 'Teleporting'.

After a year of living on a Sweeper ship, the crew were used to the brother's antics.

Both of them had shot up in height, thanks to the regular meals and strenuous exercise aboard the ship. Though neither of them liked cleaning the hull.

Howard knew this day would come. It didn't mean he had to like it.

Mark and Micheal were about to turn eleven, which was when the Ministry registers would start to pick up the magic they did on a daily, oftentimes _hourly_ basis.

And that was a headache he didn't want to deal with.

So late on Friday evening, he sat both boys down and explained to them what would happen later that month.

"So basically we have to choose between going to these schools or staying here and having our power bound by idiots?" asked Mark.

"Unfortunately. Up till now they could care less about the magic you did, it was classed as accidental by their monitors. But when you two turn eleven, they'll actually take notice of what you do."

Both of them grimaced. Every time they were on land, the two of them used their pickpocketing skills to buy books. Or in Micheal's case new hats.

Much to the amusement of Mark, Micheal took his title of Mad Hatter very seriously. He had over a hundred hats that he could materialize with a wave of his hand, all with the Ace of Hearts held in the band outside of the cap. Usually with a feather or two beside the card.

Though on Mark's tenth birthday, Micheal had presented his brother with a pin that had a hare on it. He wore it everywhere, usually on the left side of his shirts.

"Can't we have tutors?" asked Micheal.

"We've been tutoring you two since we found the three of you. Unfortunately the Ministry won't see it that way, at least for the first year."

"Can we still talk to Duo?" asked Mark.

"I know the spell that allows electronics to run on magic. But you two will have to cast it yourselves."

They looked relieved.

"Once we get your wands, you'll be on their radar for at least a year. After that I can safely fool the tracers on the wands so they won't pick your magic up."

The two called Duo, and talked to him about it. They weren't going to leave this decision to themselves. An hour later they told Howard their decision.

"We'll go. But only if we get to come back here for our breaks," they announced.

Howard grinned, and told the crew to set sail for Ireland. It would be relatively easy to get the Knight Bus to take them to London and back.

Of course neither of the boys knew that Howard was a Squib.

* * *

Howard walked to the pub entrance with a grin. The day before, the boys looked up to see two large barn owls flying to the ship. Both of them had a letter in their claws...though they were a bit surprised to see the letters misaddressed.

Once they took the letters off, the owls waited patiently for the reply.

Howard read the letters to them, and made a note of the supplies they would need.

And penned a quick reply...with a note to the teachers that they got their names completely wrong.

* * *

McGonagall looked at the letter she had received from an old student. He managed to pass his NEWTs, but he was still considered a Squib.

Howard had found two potential wizards by the names of Mark and Micheal Heart. For some odd reason the boys had received the letters under the wrong names.

Odd, but not unheard of. The owls they used were getting rather old, and sometimes they allowed the wrong person to remove the letters. She wrote a reply back, and sent it off.

Mark and Micheal were eager to see this Diagon Alley. They were both wearing hats, (Mark borrowed one of Micheal's more tame ones to keep his hair out of his face) and had cloaks on.

Howard was always amused by the sight the brothers made.

All three of them wore their hair long, usually in a loose ponytail or in a braid. Micheal's raven black locks used to refuse listening to a comb or brush until it went past his neck, but it still spiked at the ends.

Mark's platinum blond hair (usually in some rather bizarre colors thanks to his Metamorphamagi ability) lay flat and didn't stay put when he put it in a braid. (Much to his annoyance and Micheal's amusement, his hair always managed to come undone within hours, so he left it in a ponytail.)

Duo's chestnut hair took to designing well, though he usually coiled it up when he was around oil. His cheerful mask only served to hide his rather serious nature, and his rather overprotective mother hen mode.

Howard didn't have a doubt in his mind that if Duo ever caught either Mark or Micheal doing _half _the stuff they pulled on a weekly basis he would have pulled some of his hair out in worry.

Mark had his hare pin holding his cloak closed. His platinum blond hair (which for some reason didn't want to change color today) was threaded through the back of Micheal's hat. He wore a simple green and blue t shirt and navy blue jeans. Around his neck was the pendant he had found a few weeks ago on shore leave that he had taken a liking to.

It was one of the few things he had actually bought, rather than stole.

Micheal was wearing his favorite sleeveless black shirt with silver lining. His deep blue jeans were well worn, and perfect for running. He was wearing his favorite hat, with a black feather and Ace of Hearts in the midnight blue fabric. It was rather similar to a cowboy hat, only the sides were more triangular than round.

Howard thought they could pass for muggleborns. Or muggle raised half bloods anyway.

He took them through the large crowd inside the pub. They seemed to be expecting someone.

Once they were out of the pub, Howard tapped the bricks and grinned at the boy's shocked faces.

Diagon was rather impressive for the first time.

He gently, but firmly lead both boys to the bank. Upon seeing the rhyme on the door, they shot him an amused look.

"Are we even allowed in here?" asked Micheal.

"So long as you don't try to take anything that isn't yours, they could care less," said Howard, trying not to laugh. Neither boy seemed to care about how the goblins looked.

As soon as they stepped in the bank, a series of alarms abruptly went off. Both boys looked rather panicked, and were about to make a run for it.

Too bad they were blocked.

One goblin came from the back room, not very amused.

"To have set off all those alarms... You two will have to come with me please."

Mark and Micheal reluctantly followed the goblin, hoping they wouldn't be thrown into wizard jail for being thieves.

"We have been trying to find you two for quite some time. Particularly when we learned that both of you had gone missing."

"Huh?" Mark summed up what they were both thinking.

Griphook (that was the goblin's name, right on a little plaque on his desk) looked at Mark first.

"You... were taken by your maternal aunt two days after the Dark Lord was supposedly killed. From what your parents have said, Bellatrix Lestrange wasn't supposed to come anywhere near you when she wasn't acting properly."

Griphook looked at Micheal.

"You were left at your maternal aunt's house, and it was only a year later that we discovered she had removed you from the house."

Micheal held up a hand.

"Why did it take a _year_ to find that out?" he asked.

"Because it took your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore a year to find someone to keep an eye on you without interfering. It was only a month after being posted at Privet Drive that Arabella Figg discovered your aunt had taken you out of the house and left you in an aero port."

The two looked at each other.

"Our brother said we were found together in a shuttle to the colonies, L2 to be specific," said Mark.

"He also said that both of us were next to each other in the live animal compartment," said Micheal.

Griphook looked at them both.

"By which name do you two go by?" he asked.

"I am Mark Heart...though I also go by the March Hare," said the blond.

"I am Micheal Heart, also known as the Mad Hatter," he grinned, pointing to the odd hat he was wearing.

"You two do realize that those aren't your real names?" he asked amused.

"Those are the names we go by. We won't answer to anything else," said Mark.

"Well I may as well take you both to your vaults..."

They stared. They had vaults?

What Griphook neglected to tell them was that he was also going to alert Lucius Malfoy about the return of his lost son. As well as warn him about the name change.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had undergone a drastic change when they lost Draco. The first thing to happen was their sudden change in attitude towards others.

Originally the couple held themselves aloof from others, except for the darker pure blood families. They were the perfect example of pure blood breeding.

Now they avoiding the parties like the plague, and no longer thought themselves better than others such as muggleborns.

They had tried everything to find Draco when Lucius had realized his sister-in-law/second cousin had taken his son.

Narcissa was still recovering from a severe bout of depression, and Lucius had left his house elves to take care of Draco for a few hours. That was when Bella came into the house, and saw her nephew sleeping.

It was already too late when Lucius had realized his son was gone.

* * *

_Petunia Dursley looked at her sleeping nephew with disgust. She didn't want the brat, and certainly didn't intend to keep him. He could infect her beloved Dudley with his magical taint!_

_She looked up the flights out of Surrey to the colonies. She remembered Lily's complaints about James and Sirius being so behind the times that they were shocked the colonies even existed._

_It was when she found a shuttle leaving for L2 that she concocted the perfect plan to be rid of her nephew once and for all. She bundled up the brat and took the car to the nearest shuttle port. The security was rather lax, but then again she had heard screaming coming from the unloading area._

_She found the first shuttle heading to the colonies that had a live animal area and left the brat nestled between a dog cage and some luggage._

_Unseen by Mrs. Dursley, another woman went up to the same shuttle and left her nephew beside the other boy. In her crazed mind she never thought twice about the act, thinking she could retrieve him when she and her family were done torturing and killing the muggles._

* * *

Lucius looked up to see the small owl land perfectly bearing the seal of Gringotts. He only half read the statement...until he realized what it was saying.

The blood alarms had gone off two days ago. The ones tied to Narcissa and Lucius specifically. For that to have happened, it could only mean one thing.

The goblins had found Draco.

* * *

_**This fic just came to me when I considered a Gryffindor Draco Malfoy. Then it just clicked when I added a brotherly Harry along with the background of Duo Maxwell.**_

_**To be clear though, Duo is roughly two years older than Mark (Draco) and Micheal (Harry).**_


	27. Where Harry's Fan Girls Went To Part One

Harry was pissed. It wasn't because people kept staring at him, or the fact everyone believed he was their savior.

No, it was more along the lines of the fact that his annoying fan girls refused to leave him alone, even when he left the school. Every time they bothered him, memories half forgotten came rushing to the surface.

Memories of when he was a shinobi, and when he killed people almost every week in the name of his god.

Right now he was sorely tempted to go back to being a violent, evil, absolutely fucking insane sociopath who killed people for looking at him the wrong way.

In short, he was one step away from killing everyone and smiling the entire day away.

It didn't help that his so called Uncle had locked him in his room after seeing the letter Ron had sent.

What no one ever realized was that Harry James Potter was a natural actor. He could get his fans to believe he was an innocent sweet natured boy struggling to get by in a world he barely knew.

If people knew what Harry really thought of the magical community and Hogwarts in general...

Let's just say that they would flinch whenever he appeared.

Vernon stomped up his room, and prepared to hit him, Sirius be damned!

And just like that, Harry dropped his Gryffindor side and allowed his Slytherin half to take full control.

His dark side was named Hidan.

* * *

When Arthur Weasly broke through the floo he had a friend hook up, he was absolutely horrified. He quickly tried to hide the scene from his sons, but it was no use.

Every wall was covered in blood, gore, and what were clearly Ancient Runes. Fearing the worst, he tried to look for Harry.

All three Dursleys were quite clearly dead. He saw bits and pieces of them strewn through the house.

"Harry! Where are you mate?!" yelled Ron. Arthur tried to shush him, but the shout did the trick.

"Ron!" came the cry from the upstairs bedroom.

The door appeared to have been attacked by spells, but was still in one piece. It was firmly locked from the inside.

"Harry, what happened here?" asked Arthur.

"How do I know you're Mr. Weasly?" came the reply.

Approving his caution, particularly after seeing the scene downstairs, he said something only he would say. The door cautiously opened, revealing a very disheveled and frightened Harry.

Harry, realizing it was the Weasly clan before him, gave his (one hundred percent bullshit) story about Death Eaters showing up and using the Dursleys as ingredients for a foul ritual. He had no idea who was downstairs, and had wisely stayed upstairs after casting several wards to keep the men out.

Out of the four standing before him, only the twins saw through his lie. Then again, Fred and George were the only people he trusted completely.

They had run across his Hidan side once, and in exchange Harry helped to fund their prank ideas. The twins knew when it was a better idea to keep quiet.

Arthur apparently felt rather strong wards on the door, because he didn't question Harry's story once.

* * *

Harry was quickly taken to the Burrow, where he gave his tale and was almost immediately adopted by the Weasly clan. Even Dumbledore couldn't complain about the arrangement, since someone had killed the Dursleys in such a violent way.

(Dumbledore would later wonder why the wards surrounding the house never tripped, and briefly considered Harry had killed his aunt's family. He would dismiss it outright, believing Harry to be too much of a Gryffindor to harbor such a Slytherin side.)

"So what set you off?" asked George.

"The fat bastard went to deck me, despite having given him proper warning about my godfather checking up on me from time to time. Your dad's letter only set him off."

"I can't believe people actually bought your lame story," said Fred, shaking his head.

"I had a few hours to work on it. Luckily Hermione doesn't know I've been swiping her Ancient Runes books when she falls asleep. How much you want to bet people will question their deaths when the fan girls start dropping off?" smirked Harry.

"What about Ginny?" asked George, somewhat concerned.

"She hasn't been stalking me since last year. So long as she continues to keep her distance, she won't have anything to fear from me. Ron, on the other hand, better give me some space or I will sacrifice him to Jashin-sama with a smile on my face," said Harry.

Fred and George weren't that attached to Ron, and somehow they knew they wouldn't be seeing him next year.

They honestly didn't have a problem with Hidan, mostly because he found some of their pranks rather amusing. He even gave them a few rather disturbing, but still rather amusing pranks.

Draco Malfoy had woken up more than once to believe he had started bleeding from his ass.

(This was more or less the reason they had discovered Slytherin tower was right next to Gryffindor tower.)

* * *

Harry acted suitably frightened when the Death Eaters decided to make an appearance at the World Cup. Hermione had been rather horrified to hear that his relatives had been sacrificed in such a bloody fashion.

If she had any idea that her Ancient Runes book, which had gone missing the year before, had been used in the killing, she would have been absolutely devastated.

(Hidan had made very sure to make it _look_ like a banned blood ritual, but without the last few runes to activate it. It would have been picked up in a heartbeat.)

* * *

Harry took the sympathetic looks and horrified gazes from his classmates with patient grace. Malfoy had been particularly annoying about the supposed Death Eater attack.

Probably because he knew damn well Death Eaters hadn't attacked Harry's muggle house.

Harry left the compartment, saying he needed to use the bathroom. No one followed him.

He found Draco two compartments over, with only Crabbe and Goyle to back him up. A feral grin spread across his face.

"Hello Malfoy. I suppose you saw through my little act didn't you?" he sneered.

Malfoy jumped. The last thing he expected was to see _this_ particular side of Harry Potter. Especially when no one would believe him if Harry were to attack him.

"I know that none of the Death Eaters did it," he said finally.

"Of course they didn't. Dumbledore would have sensed them enter the house! It was just the easiest excuse I could come up with."

"Who did kill your relatives then?"

"I did of course. Wasn't exactly hard. The real issue was finding the right runes to place to make it look like a Death Eater attack."

Draco turned even more pale than normal, which was saying something since he looked like a vampire warmed over.

"You did that?"

Harry's sneer widened.

"You have no idea how close the Hat came to placing me in Slytherin three years ago. What better place to hide than in Gryffindor, where everyone expected me to be?"

"What do you want?"

"A truce...and your word that no one learns about the fact that I slaughtered my relatives with a large smile on my face the entire time."

"Done!" said Draco quickly.

If Harry could kill three people who were related to him by blood without flinching, especially in such a violent manner, then who knew what he was really capable of?

"Oh, and chances are Ronald Weasly will be dead by the end of the year. Depends on how much he pisses me off."

That little bit of information caused Draco's mind to do a three second standstill, until...

"Mind if I help?"

* * *

Harry paled when he heard about the Tournament. It would make things much harder to kill people.

Particularly his fan girls. They had to _die_ in the name of Jashin dammit!

Dealing with Draco had come with the benefits he had hoped for. Slytherin left him the hell alone, and some of the Death Eater wannabes were shooting him speculative looks.

Even Snape was giving him a wide berth. People just assumed it was because of the fact that Harry recently lost his family to a Death Eater raid.

One by one, girls started to go missing.

It wasn't until the other schools started to arrive that people finally noticed that fact.

* * *

**_This is basically a Harry-is-Hidan story. Sadly I can't seem to write Hidan very well, so I am leaving this up for adoption, with the request that anyone who takes it up also include a link so I can read it. If you are interested, please let me know!_**


	28. Birds of a Feather Chapter One

After the accident, Bruce had assumed that he would never have the pleasure of human company again.

All that is thrown out the day he visits Britain in yet another attempt to avoid civilization and runs into a fifteen year old boy with broken frames, too skinny body, and a resigned air.

Harry is a highly intelligent child forced to live with his brutish aunt and uncle who hated anything abnormal...and his ability to understand even half of what Bruce knows about physics and quantum mechanics qualifies.

When asked why Harry never tried to run away, the boy responds that someone keeps dragging him back. He had no love for his family, and would run far, far away if he could. But the few times he tried after he first managed to escape them to a place where he would be left alone from his thuggish cousin, surprise surprise! Someone appeared and dragged him kicking and screaming back.

Hearing about Harry's early childhood and the cupboard under the stairs was almost enough for Bruce to let the other guy out to play. So when Harry drops the bomb about the fact he was an honest to god wizard, Bruce didn't even blink twice. Harry didn't seem unconcerned about the other guy.

And for some odd reason, even the Hulk liked young Harry. Probably because unlike most of the world, Harry looked at the Hulk with at best vague indifference. He didn't treat the other guy as an animal that needed to be caged. He knew better than anyone that sometimes people needed to vent out their frustration before they cracked.

So after Bruce leaves, he feels like it won't be the last time he sees Harry.

* * *

When Bruce realized he was being followed, he originally assumed it was S.H.I.E.L.D again. Right up until the point when a very colorful bird he can't even name (it has a multitude of colors like it came from Brazil) drops from the sky and flies up to him. When he offered his hand, it sat there calmly.

And when it didn't leave even after the other guy came out to get rid of some random warlord that tried to use the Hulk, he knew something was up about it. Still, it beat being alone. The Hulk didn't try to smash it or kill it. Instead it went out of the way to avoid harming it.

Occasionally the bird would sing and the other guy would calm down before Bruce snapped. The number of days between incidents started to jumping in the double digits with the bird around. When it hit triple, for the first time in years, Bruce had found a damn good reason not to shoo the bird away.

All of that was meaningless when the day S.H.I.E.L.D nabbed both him and his precious bird companion (apparently a note had been made that the two were now a matching set if you didn't want the Hulk getting pissed off) he ended up coming face to face with Tony Stark trying to find a cube that had been stolen.

* * *

Right as Steve Rogers started in on Tony for poking Bruce, his bird friend squawked. It seemed to take exception to Steve's uptight attitude.

Oddly enough, it didn't even twitch when Tony petted it.

The look his bird companion (it had given a good whack with it's wing to the first person who called it Bruce's pet. The fact it had been Fury saying it out loud was enough to startle a laugh out of Bruce at the time when he was about to snap) gave Steve said it was seriously contemplating attacking him.

Though he did enjoy the looks Tony was giving the bird when it went up to a computer and with a balled up foot started punching in numbers. Bruce had seen it actually reading one of his physics books in the early morning while he was making breakfast. When he quizzed it, the bird had pointed out the passages to answer him.

He just took it for granted that the bird was smarter than most people. In fact it even helped him catch fish every once in a while.

"So tell me Doc... What's up with the bird?" said Tony.

"Don't ask me. He just showed up one day while I was in the middle of the rain forest and for some reason he calms the other guy down. I figure anything that can do that is worth keeping around. The other guy seems to like him too," said Bruce.

"I gotta tell ya Doc, I've never seen a bird put in calculations like that," said Tony.

The bird seemed to pause, before checking that they were completely alone and locking the door.

Then it did something that nearly gave Bruce and Tony a heart attack. It turned into a human. A very _familiar_ human to Bruce.

"Harry?" he said in shock.

"Sorry I never told you sooner, but we were being followed by S.H.I.E.L.D constantly and it was hard enough to ditch Fury's lackeys just to find you."

"Why would Fury be after you?" asked Tony.

"Because of who I am and what I did. Believe me, it was easier for me to act like a bird than be human. This is the most fun I've had in years."

"How did you do that anyway?" said Tony. Bruce was still in too much shock.

"I'm a wizard. One of my abilities is shapeshifting. And since I knew I could at least trust Bruce not to bring me in, I figured it would be safer to hang around him for a while."

He suddenly turned back and flew to Bruce's shoulder. It became clear when Fury suddenly came in.

"Alright Doctor, where is he?" said Fury, looking distinctly annoyed.

"Who?"

"Potter. I just saw him in the window."

"Who?" said Bruce, utterly confused at this point. On the plus side, there was almost no chance of the Other Guy coming out.

"Harry bloody Potter."

The bird turned back into a human and glared at him.

"I told you before Nicky, that I had no interest in your little group. Hell, I've been hexing your lackeys for months before I finally managed to give them the slip! Why the hell won't you take the hint and leave me the hell alone?!" said Harry.

"Hold on... You actually call him Nicky...and he doesn't shoot you?" said Tony, grinning wildly.

"You know of a better way to piss him off to the point he would leave you alone?" said Harry rhetorically.

Tony laughed.

"Potter, the very fact you are here means that you are willing to work with us."

"Not you or your little group. I'm only here as support for Bruce, since he was the only one who's ever given a damn about me, even if I was a bird at the time."

"I'm amazed you stayed that long in bird form. Wizards generally can't stand being in animal form without losing human thought. And we could definitely use your help against Loki," said Fury.

"I'll help right up until Bruce decides to leave. He's about the only real friend I have at this point, and I am not leaving him alone with you of all people. Your bad habits would be more than enough to let Mr. Anger-Management-Issues come out to play," said Harry flatly.

Tony was definitely trying not to laugh. He loved this kid!

Fury's phone suddenly went off. He looked at the text and then at Tony.

"Mr. Stark, you and Rogers are going to Stuttgart, Germany. Loki's been spotted."

"Great... Stars and Stripes before coffee," said Tony. Harry liked him well enough that he conjured one, piping hot for him. Tony only blinked twice before he accepted it.

Fury went back to the command center while Bruce spoke to Harry.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I had just gotten out of a war, my 'best friends' turned out to be assholes who were only in it for the fame and glory, and everyone I knew looked to me for all their troubles to end. I was sick of it, and I remembered you actually talking to me like a normal person about things most people wouldn't find interesting in the least. And since I knew my animal form could possibly help with your other side, I figured hiding with you would be safer. Besides, Fury was starting to really piss me off with his stupid recruitment speeches."

"...You were in a war?" said Bruce faintly. That would explain why Harry's eyes seemed so tired.

"I was 'prophesied' to end some blood war with a madman on one side and a hypocritical old man who refused to kill on the other. And when I actually beat the bastard who murdered my parents and ended the war, surprise surprise, people still look to me to solve their problems instead of dealing with it themselves," said Harry.

"So you came to find me, since you knew that the other guy actually liked you to a point and they would have great difficulty beating him," said Bruce.

"Well, mostly because you were the most intelligent conversation I had ever had, even if I was still behind on the subjects you know so much about and I had a feeling you needed someone to talk to without being afraid of your odd other half. I guess that's why my animal form is a phoenix... they are known for calming people down with their songs," said Harry with a shrug.

Bruce stared at him.

"Thanks."

"No problem. So, you're not going to chase me away now that you know the truth?"

"Not a chance. You're not the only one who needs someone to talk to, though I have to admit, Tony is strange enough."

"True. Anyway, do you think that this Loki character is _the_ Loki from the stories?" said Harry grinning.

"Why?" asked Bruce, almost afraid of the answer.

"My dad, godfather and favorite Uncle were pranksters, and I inherited a bit of their mischief. If he is the same Loki like in the tales, then I want to exchange prank ideas with him!" said Harry.

"Considering they're bringing him back, I'm sure Fury would let you have a crack at him..." said Bruce amused.

* * *

As it turned out, Fury was more than happy to let Harry have a crack at him. He knew full well that wizards could look into people's minds with their magic. Too bad Harry had other ideas. The first thing he did was locate Thor, because something about Loki's eyes didn't sit right with him. It was like he was seeing through a tinted window instead of a clear one. No way was he chancing his mental state to look into Loki's mind if he wasn't the one in control.

"So Thor... What color are Loki's eyes?" asked Harry.

Thor looked at the little wizard amused.

"They are the same shade as your own, why?"

"Thought so. Whatever is in that cell isn't Loki. His eyes are electric blue and I have never seen a shade like that naturally. There is every chance that your brother is being controlled and can still be saved," said Harry.

The relief on Thor's face was clear.

"Can you help him?"

"Is Hel really his daughter?"

"Hel? She rules the lands of the dead, and Loki is her sire, but what does that matter?" said Thor confused.

"Then chances are I can reach him. Hel and I are...acquainted, in a manner of speaking. If she actually cares for her father, she should be willing to help."

Leaving a very confused Thor behind, Harry went to see Loki.

* * *

"So they think a mere wizard can pry the information from me? How naïve," Loki sneered.

"I do have some questions, though whether or not you answer them is up to you," shrugged Harry.

"Ask away little Wizard. Though make no mistake, I will snap your little twig in half once I am freed."

"Not my problem. My first question is actually about the stories humans have told about your race... Is it true you once tricked Thor into a dress and made him pretend to be Freya in order to get that silly hammer back?"

That actually threw Loki for a loop.

"What?"

"Well there's this legend that a frost giant stole his precious hammer and you convinced him to pretend he was Freya and put him in a wedding dress so he could marry the giant and he killed the giant once he had his hammer back. I'm just curious if that tale is true or not, and if you had any photos."

Loki blinked. Twice.

"Where in Hel's name did you hear that one? I thought Thor had forbidden anyone of speaking of it."

Harry's grin was massive.

"So it did actually happen?"

"It happened," said Loki, surprised.

"Please tell me you have pictures, hell even a memory would work! Seeing that musclebound idiot in a dress would be worth it's weight in gold!"

Loki actually grinned.

"I'm actually curious... How did you know about that old tale?"

"You were my favorite out of the entire Norse pantheon. I come from a long line of pranksters, so naturally the tales of the prankster god Loki caught my attention. I know a pair of twins who would kill to meet you...and they own a joke shop."

Suddenly Loki went on the defensive.

"You aren't here to get at the information in a roundabout way are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Are you kidding? Little Miss Spider can do that boring stuff! I'd would rather talk to the only prankster god I've ever met and exchange ideas! Hell, Rogers and Fury are just begging to get hit with some good pranks!"

For the first time since Harry had first met Loki, he could see emerald green under the electric blue eyes. So he was being controlled...the only question was by who and why.

* * *

"Loki is being controlled, same as the people he captured," said Harry flatly.

Everyone had gotten used to his presence once he revealed himself. And since Fury wasn't in a snit, they didn't question him being there.

"Are you sure?" said Thor. It was clear that he hoped to save his brother from the cruel dream he had.

"It helps to have a similar background. While my childhood wasn't very nice, I do know what it's like to be so overshadowed that all your accomplishments go to the wayside. Well, that and the fact I wasn't the least bit interested in where the cube was helped too."

"Hold on a minute, you were talking to him for four hours. What on earth could you two talk about for hours if it wasn't his plans?" said Fury.

"To catch a thief, hire a thief. Loki is a natural prankster, so it was obvious that he wouldn't mind speaking of pranks instead of world domination plans. By the way Thor, if he does fail he's promise me a copy of the memory when you lost your hammer to that Frost Giant and you had to go in as Freya..."

Thor's happy expression soured in an instant.

"Damn him...he swore never to mention that again..." he growled.

"To be fair I just wanted to confirm whether it happened or not, because I had heard about it," said Harry smirking. He could see Tony's laughing eyes from where he stood.

"So how do you know Loki is being controlled?" said Fury.

"Simple. While we discussed pranks, his eyes were the same color as my own. But if we even diverted at all, they went to electric blue. That means something is controlling him. I could attempt to break it by force, but I don't think it would do much good at this point. He has already mentioned that he has no clue where the cube is at the moment, nor does he particularly care."

"What makes you think that?" asked Bruce. Harry had a very good judge of personality, from what he could tell.

"As far as I could see, Loki could care less about the humans. He's only doing this to royally piss off Thor. His plan could fail and all he would feel would be extreme annoyance. The only reason he's even bothering with the cube is because someone is making him."

"Be that as it may, we need the cube back," said Fury.

"No, humanity as a whole isn't ready for it. Personally I agree with Thor in that it shouldn't be here in the first place. That thing is more trouble than it's worth, and Asgard seems to be the only race that looks like it could actually handle the damn thing. Absolute power like the cube will only bring death and destruction unless the one holding it views it as just another tool," said Harry flatly.

Thor looked surprised.

"You don't have the authority to make that call Potter," said Fury.

"Don't I? You seem to misunderstand me Fury. I don't particularly care about you, your group or even about the cube. I don't even need it's power to cause destruction on a similar scale. Hel's Avatar among the living needs no trinket like the tesseract to cause death," said Harry coldly.

* * *

**_Writers and Readers of Fanfiction dot net. I have the horrible news that SOPA, a bill that would make reading or making fanfiction a FELONY is back. We need your support to keep this horrible bill from being passed and keep Freedom of Speech alive! Remember, if this is passed, sites like fanficton dot net, facebook and youtube will be a thing of the past! Don't let them infringe on your right to read fanfics! Sign the petition to have this nonsense stopped now!  
_**


	29. Vampire Potter Chapter One

Honoka took her last look at the ancient castle. What should have felt like home to her and her brother felt only like a prison. People who tried to befriend the two only did so in an attempt to separate them.

Harry was her light in the darkness. And she, she was the one who kept him from turning into a complete emo because of the strain.

Fifteen years ago, when she was only two, Lily Evans had rescued her from a Death Eater raid which killed her parents and adopted her. A little over a year later she had Harry.

Honoka Evans ne Black (Sirius had at least managed to adopt the two of them before being falsely arrested) was about to leave England for good. It was going to be Harry's fifth year, and there was no way she was leaving him behind to deal with the one called Dumbledore.

Today was her seventeenth birthday, which marked her as an adult by magical standards.

Which meant the tracers would fall off.

"Come on Harry, it's time to leave," said Honoka.

Honoka's long red and black hair and blue eyes often made boys stumble over themselves to get her attention. Something she never gave except to Harry.

"Okay Sis. Where are we going anyway?"

"A safe haven for people like us that doubles as a school. You'll be attending Night Class since for some reason you got that rather annoying reaction to the sunlight and I didn't. I've already made the preparations."

"Does this mean I can finally catch up to my mundane education?"

"Absolutely. The place we're going has dormitories, and unfortunately we'll be in separate ones. I listed myself as having a rather bad case of anemia among other things, so the headmaster won't ask questions about the fact I have to leave campus every week to get a blood transfusion. You, on the other hand, will have to live with those nasty blood tablets they give out."

"Where's my new uniform?"

"We'll get the uniforms when we get there. It's a private academy, so no one will think about bothering us. You got your things?"

"The twins gave me a bag. All my things are in here, and the goblins gave me a card that will double as a muggle credit card."

"I got one as well. Shall we get going then?"

Harry whistled for his owl, Hedwig. A car drove up to the house, and the two got in. Honoka had marked the guard schedule and knew Figg was out getting groceries for the moment, so no one saw them leave. Petunia was never given the name of the Academy, and all she knew was that Honoka had applied to a private school outside Britain which could apply to anywhere.

Dumbledore really wasn't pleased the day he learned Honoka was a pure blood from an old line, much like her brother.

* * *

"Welcome to Cross Academy!" said the Headmaster.

Harry looked at his new white uniform with something akin to annoyance.

"At least it's more tasteful than what we had to wear before," he said.

Honoka had a black uniform, which was the outfit for the Day Class.

"I still don't see why we had to come here for new students," growled Zero.

"Miss Honoka has agreed to help you as part of the Disciplinary Committee. Since her adopted brother happens to be part of the Night Class, she can also use this as a way to keep an eye on him," said Headmaster Cross.

"And what sort of weapon do you specialize in?" asked Zero bored.

"Swords. However I won't be getting a weapon. My magic should be more than enough to keep the vampires from bothering me," she said pleasantly.

You could feel the friction between her and Zero. Yuki, the Headmaster's daughter, seemed relieved to have some help.

"Now Yuki has agreed to be your new roommate Honoka, and young Harry will be joining one of the others. Kaname has agreed to show you around later, once Night Class begins. Yuki, will you show Honoka-san around?"

"Sure thing!" said Yuki cheerfully.

* * *

"So...Honoka-san... Why are you so pale?" asked Yuki.

"I have a rather severe case of anemia. As a result, I have to leave campus rather frequently to get blood transfusions. Thankfully I am allow to participate in sports, mostly because the Headmaster has cleared use of something I found in the magical communities called 'Blood Pops'. They were originally designed as the prototype to those blood pills you give the Night Class...however I never really enjoyed taking those."

"I've never heard of blood pops."

"They're more of a prank item than anything. Shall we give one to Kiryu-san later to see his reaction?"

Yuki paused in her stride, before snickering.

Honoka reached into her side bag and pulled out a blood red candy. Yuki could see designs on the candy that looked like blood drops.

Honoka pulled off the plastic and popped it in her mouth.

"I don't mind the sweet taste, but I wish I could make these on my own without stinking up a room."

"What are they made out of?"

"Mostly Blood, sugar and corn syrup. They have all the blood types available, but I mostly prefer the A positive."

"Huh...wait, did you say these things are made of blood?! That could be bad!"

Honoka blew into Yuki's face, and the girl blinked. She didn't smell a whiff of the coppery tang.

"The scent of blood won't come from anyone eating one of these. If anything the only thing a vampire would smell is the scent of candy flavoring. They do add different flavors to these things just because the main buyers like the variety. The one I have now is cinnamon."

"Are you sure that the Night Class won't smell blood from them?"

"Positive. Very few of the vampires I've come across like them because while they do have blood in them, they can't get the taste of the candy flavoring out of their mouth. In fact they've actually complained that there isn't enough of the blood taste in the candy."

"Alright, but if I find out the Night Class became rowdy because of these..."

"Yuki-san, my brother is a turned vampire and he can't smell them on my breath. What makes you think one of the Night Class will even recognize it?"

* * *

Kaname looked at the newest member of the Night Class with interest.

Harry Potter, a legend in the magical communities...was a turned vampire who had no bite marks but a few scars. He refused to say the name of his sire, but Kaname had a hunch the vampire was alive. Normally he would be in the Day Class, but he apparently developed a severe rash to sunlight.

He suspected his sister supplied the blood to the kid, which would account for the severe anemia she had. Frankly it was a miracle she wasn't a ghoul yet.

"So what is you blood type preference?" asked Kaname.

"I have no idea. My sister is the one with the preference. Then again, I still don't see why she likes blood pops that much either."

Kaname carefully avoided making a face at the term blood pops. They had circulated among the pure bloods for years as a replacement for blood, but the fad had never really caught on among the elite. The only reason the blood tablets had caught on was because they were discreet and didn't taste like some form of demented candy.

A few of the female vampires had tried the pops and occasionally ate them in place of the tablets, but it was hard to get a hold of the magical treat.

Once Harry was put into his age group, he found it much easier than Hogwarts. Here, people ignored him and treated him like a regular student.

Plus they were rather understanding towards his hesitance to join the Night Parties. While he was of an old line, it was a magical one and he was the first vampire. Harry still didn't know which line his sister belonged to, only that it was as old as his own and from what the goblins said, unbroken even now.

The bracelet that encircled her upper right arm was supposed to be a betrothal bond, meaning when she came of age she was supposed to find the other half.

According to the goblins it would heat up the closer she got to her betrothed. So far it had yet to even warm up, even when flames were put on it, as displayed by a rather vindictive Slytherin.

Honoka would miss Ravenclaw.

* * *

Yuki took Honoka out for the first patrol. Their first job was to separate the Day Class females from the Night Class. It was a difficult, thankless job and it didn't make one well liked at all.

Honoka took charge the moment things looked like it would grow out of hand.

She put two fingers to her lips and whistled sharply.

"Alright girls, front and center! I know you want to see the Night Class, but that doesn't mean you can act like paparazzi before the gates open! I want two uniform lines so the boys can get through! Think you can handle that?" she said calmly.

"Hai!" came the response.

"Now, if you behave we'll let you see the Night Class. Misbehave and I'll have you all sent back to your dorms and banned from seeing them for a week. Fair enough?"

"Who are you? I don't recognize you at all!" said one of the Kaname fan girls.

"My name is Honoka Potter. I just transferred and the Headmaster asked me to be on the Disciplinary Committee since Yuki and Zero are overworked as it is. I can understand that you want to see the Night Class but you have to give them some space too. How would you like it if you had someone screaming in your ears while you were trying to get to class?"

The girl who spoke out before looked at her appreciatively.

"I agree. We'll try to keep the noise level to a minimum so long as you lot quit trying to make us go back to our dorms without saying hello to the Night Class. By the way, my name is Usagi Hino."

Yuki stared at Honoka amazed. She got the girls to behave!

Zero watched all this in disbelief. This girl clearly had more sense than Yuki...though that wasn't hard.

When the Night Class came out, the girls were well behaved. It was amazing. The second the messy black hair came into view, Honoka grinned.

"Harry, over here!"

"Hey sis!" said Harry grinning.

The girls zoomed in on the new blood like vampires. It was frightening.

"Who's this?"

"Everyone, this is my younger brother Harry. For reasons I cannot reveal, we have to attend different classes. Harry was selected as a member of the Night class, so be nice. If you don't swarm him, he'll talk to you. He's had bad experiences with people mobbing him," said Honoka.

"Hono-nee..." whined Harry.

She lightly bopped him on the head.

"Don't deny it Harry. Those fan girls kept trying to lace your food the second you hit fourteen. If it hadn't been for me, you would have fallen for some tramp who was after your assets instead of love."

Harry pouted, which had the collective group of girls coo over him.

Kaname paused when he passed by Honoka. The betrothal armlet which his parents had given him when he was three was burning hot. It hadn't changed at all since he got it. So why was it reacting now?

The girl his parents had chosen was a pureblood vampire from an old line. And he was the only pure blood in Cross Academy.

At first he assumed it was Honoka, the only new face there. But she was in Day Class. The headmaster wasn't foolish enough to put a vampire among the humans.

He didn't notice her wince when he came close. Or that her arm was almost glowing.

* * *

Honoka's ultimatum to the girls seemed to work better than completely trying to separate the two classes. Yuki found it much easier to keep them separate with the girl around.

The girls seemed to respect Honoka almost instinctively.

One day, Yuki notices a strange arm band around Honoka's right arm.

"What's that?"

"This? I don't know. Supposedly it's a betrothal band, meant to signify that the one wearing it is taken by another. But it's only supposed to act up when the person is near their betrothed or come of age. Frankly I've never believed in that sort of thing."

"Huh. Isn't that a bit old fashioned?" asked Yuki.

"I know, but I have no idea how to get this stupid thing off. And I've tried everything."

Yuki stared at it for a bit. She knew she had seen it before, but was unable to remember where.

"Don't we have patrol in an hour?"

Yuki grimaced.

"Don't remind me, please. Zero is absolutely useless unless there's a fight involved."

Honoka giggled.

"You sound like Harry and I whenever there's work to be done. He hates studying, because of a girl named Hermione who used to draw up these ridiculous schedules."

Yuki pouted and threw a pillow at Honoka. Honoka used her hand to throw it back. It hit Yuki in the face.

"Hono-chan!" she whined.

Honoka descended into giggles. Soon Yuki did too. She liked Honoka, because the girl was like a big sister. She was older than Zero and Yuki, but had to be put in the same class as them because the last school she attended didn't have many normal classes and she needed to catch up.

* * *

Honoka heard the girl cry out before she saw them. She was there in a flash.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine...I just twisted my ankle."

"Here, hold onto my shoulder. I'll get you back to Day Class Dorms soon."

"Can't we hit the nurse's office first?" asked the second girl.

"I'm afraid not. The Night Class is full of people who can't stand the smell of blood," lied Honoka.

"Now, now, Honoka-san. You shouldn't lie to such pretty girls," said Aido.

"Back off creep. You won't fool me with those fake charms of yours," snapped Honoka.

Aido took her hand in amusement.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be so cold," said Aido.

Honoka did the only thing she could think of. She raised her leg where Aido was and kicked him into a tree. He seemed surprised she had that much leg strength.

"Touch me again and I'll kick your ass," she snarled.

"Honoka-nee, what are you doing?" asked a voice.

"Aido here was being an ass. Too bad for him we took those self defense classes."

Harry sighed.

"Aido-sempai, quit teasing my sister. She's hit more than a few would be suitors with fireballs, and she isn't discriminate about who she uses them on," said Harry bored.

Honoka flicked her wrist, and a ball of flame appeared.

"Now, do I have to set you ablaze before you take a hint or not?"

"That won't be necessary. I will discipline him appropriately Miss Potter. We'll escort the Day Class students away," said Kaname.

He notice her wince and her fireball vanished. Something about her right arm was hurting her.

"I'll leave them to you, Moon Dorm President Kuran," she said.

Once she left, she noted that her arm band had cooled off. Why did it turn so hot after all this time?


	30. Unspoken Wars Chapter One

Harry was not a happy camper. The reason was simple enough.

Voldemort had returned, the Ministry was acting like a bloody ostrich pretending he hadn't, and Dumbledore forced him to return to Privet Drive despite the fact that the chances of the blood wards working now that the Dark Lord had his blood in him were so remote it wasn't even funny. And to make matters worse, it was clear that Hermione and Ron were adhering to a ban on any form of contact with him...probably on Dumbledore's orders to boot.

Well two can play at that game.

Hedwig hated being stuck indoors, particularly if the walls were of Privet Drive.

So Harry waited until he went on a walk while Hedwig was out 'hunting' before he called her over. The owl took the letter he had written to the goblins and vanished.

He had little doubt the old man had put watchers on him. And any magic in the area would immediately be pinned on him, which made them less than useless. Three hours later Hedwig returned, and once he read the letter he had a grim smile.

He had been watching the street from his window for a couple of days now, and he felt assured that he had the watch schedule pegged.

He had noted someone who had to be magical watching the house every four to six hours before they changed. He was reasonably sure that Mrs. Figg, the crazy old cat woman across the street, was the one who held down their base of operations.

She hadn't shown any interest in his welfare before, yet _suddenly_ she was interested in having tea with him every time she saw him. If that didn't scream suspicious, or spy, he didn't know what did.

"_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_ In response to your inquiry, we have noted several discrepancies with your account. Because of this, we have sealed your vaults until you come in person to clear up the problem. Due to your rather unfortunate living situation, we have provided a port key for you to use at your convenience. The password is 'Pegasus'._

_Please come as soon as reasonably possible._

_Keeper of the Potter Account, Broketooth."_

Harry waited patiently for his chance. When he informed his Aunt that he planned to leave early with or without the usual escort, she had been beyond thrilled. Naturally she was more than happy to help him pack his things, avoiding the windows and any view outside the house.

She had noted the watchers as well.

Once he had all the items that happened to be magical (he was rather surprised to learn that Petunia had his mother's trunk from her school years) he held onto his owl and activated the port key.

And landed unceremoniously on the stone while Hedwig admonished him for the rough trip.

"Welcome to Gringotts Mr. Potter. I am Broketooth," said the goblin.

"I hate port keys."

The goblin grinned at him, rather amused at his ruffled appearance. He lead him to a rather impressive office and pulled out a folder with the Potter family crest on it.

"Now, as per your inquiry into your account, we have noted that several vaults which should have remained inactive until you reach the age of majority have been quite active since your return to the magical communities. Upon further investigation, we have found that over 1,000,000 galleons had been withdrawn without our knowledge. We are currently in the process of finding the thieves and reclaiming the gold."

Harry had a grim look.

"I want the interest going to the goblin clans for discovering the theft."

Broketooth looked at him with surprise, then respect.

"Very well. Now onto other business. Because of your father's untimely demise, we have been unable to invest into new business. All previous businesses that your family have taken interest in have been bought, but your interest is starting to stagnate."

Harry thought over what he knew would probably boom in the future before saying "I would recommend looking into computers. And the only magical business I am reasonably sure would be a success is one that the Weasly Twins are currently trying to create. Knowing them they could buy out Zonko's if given proper start up capitol."

"I will need their account. How sure are you about their business?"

"They plan to create and sell pranks, and they are rather notorious pranksters in the school. Many of their tricks are rather popular with the students. If given a chance, there is every likelihood of them going big."

"Very well. I'll be sure to get into contact with the goblin in charge of their business account and alert them that an investor is interested. Now, is there anything else you would like to do?"

"A blood test. I don't care what Dumbledore says, I have sincere doubts that Petunia Dursley is my aunt. She looks nothing like my mother at all."

"Follow me. We'll get that sorted out right now."

Harry looked at the paper with something akin to shock...and annoyance.

Petunia wasn't even his mother's sister. She was her adopted sister! Most of the names on the paper were dead, except for one.

_Shiro Emiya_

"Is there any way to contact him? There's no way I am going back to Surrey if I can avoid it."

Broketooth looked at him. Then barked something in Goblin. Another goblin came in with a file and when he saw what it said he scowled.

"Are you sure you want to contact him? According to this he's the adopted son of a Magi."

"A _what_?"

"Magi are the more heretical side of the magical communities. Wizards avoid them whenever possible. They don't even answer to the Ministry anymore."

"I don't know what the difference is. And anything is better than going back to that house!"

"It will take a few days. In the meantime, where will you be staying?"

"I'll convert some galleons into pounds and find a hotel. Shouldn't be too hard to find in London."

"Why not the Cauldron?" asked Broketooth, curious.

"If I stayed there, then the chances of the Headmaster learning I've left Surrey are too high. He won't think to check a muggle hotel."

Harry got a reply from his previously unknown cousin a few days later. Shiro didn't mind if he came to see him. The only catch was that he lived in Japan.

Harry debated on what to do.

One on hand, he would be leaving England for an entirely different setting an ocean away. He had no idea what the restrictions on Under-age magic were, or even if he could escape before the Headmaster caught onto the fact he had left. And he didn't know a word of Japanese.

On the other hand, he would be leaving his fame behind (hopefully anyway) and starting fresh. If he was lucky, his cousin wouldn't mind letting him live with him until he turned 17 and could live on his own. As far as he was aware, the Death Eaters had never left Europe. He had checked.

He left the hotel and went to see Broketooth to get a few things. Namely a passport and something to let him speak with his new cousin. And he would be bringing his owl along. No way was he leaving Hedwig behind!

* * *

Shiro prepared one of the rooms in the main house for his cousin. He had been surprised when he got the letter in the mail informing him that a recent DNA test had found one of his relatives. He didn't even know he had any left, since no one had come forward after the fire.

According to the man on the phone, his cousin was a year or so younger than him and had asked if he had any other relatives. His name was Harry Potter, and his current address was in Surrey.

When the man asked if it was possible for his mystery cousin to meet with him in person, Shiro had told them that it was possible, since he had more than enough room.

His neighbor Taiga had been skeptical, but when her grandfather looked into the bank that had found Shiro, she learned that it was legitimate. Shiro had a living cousin. The fact his cousin was a boy as well didn't hurt either. Shiro dreaded what would have happened if it had been a girl.

That had been a week ago.

* * *

Harry got off the plane, feeling a sense of relief when he stepped foot in Japan. He had left behind his anxiety and worries the second the plane took off from the London Airport.

The only way Dumbledore could follow him was on a broom, and he would have trouble finding the plane he left on. To a wizard they all looked the same.

Plus with the world the way it was, any wizard or witch sent to retrieve him was more likely to get arrested because they acted strangely and didn't have a ticket.

It wasn't until he left the gate that he realized one problem.

He didn't know where Shiro lived.

He picked up a rather irate Hedwig, who hated cages, and freed his owl.

"Well girl, you think you can find him for me?"

She gave him a hoot and glared at him. She didn't like being cooped up for sixteen hours on a plane.

Harry grabbed a spare piece of paper and wrote his cousin's name on it, and gave it to Hedwig. His owl was smart enough to find someone on their name alone, through whatever magic allowed owls to find the letter recipients.

Harry picked up his bags (both had an expandable charm so they carried far more than people would think...like the contents of his trunks) and followed his owl through Fuyuki city.

When she stopped and started to circle a house, he knew he had found his cousin's home.

"_What the heck? What's an owl doing flying around during the day?"_ asked a male voice.

Harry grinned, and whistled sharply. Hedwig dove, and flew to his arm, then walked up to his shoulder.

A boy around his age came out from behind the gate, looking for the sound of the whistle and the owl. When he saw Harry, his eyes widened.

"_Um...who are you?"_

"Hello. I'm Harry," he said.

Seeing the look of incomprehension and confusion, he realized he hadn't activated his translation charm. He found the pin and put it on his shirt. He could feel the magic take effect.

"_Sorry about that. Forgot I wasn't in England anymore. Let me try that again. I'm Harry,"_ he said in perfect Japanese.

The teen's face brightened up.

"_Sorry if my English isn't so good. I'm Emiya Shiro."_

Harry held out his hand (the one without Hedwig sitting on his arm) and Shiro shook it.

"_Why don't you come in? I have to admit, I was surprised to learn I had a cousin who was still alive. When no one came after the Fire I assumed there wasn't anyone left,"_ said Shiro.

Harry remembered something from his book, and took off his shoes.

"_I didn't know I had any living relatives on my mother's side until I asked for a blood test myself. To be honest, coming to a country where I have never been before sounded better than spending an entire summer in Surrey. The weather there was absolutely miserable."_

"_Your Japanese is almost perfect,"_ Shiro commented.

"_When I heard what country you lived in I took a crash course for about a few months,"_ Harry lied.

"_Impressive. You must be very good with languages then. So is that your owl?"_

"_Her name is Hedwig. It's Germanic for 'Female Warrior'. It's also the name for the patron saint of brides, come to think of it."_

The two made small talk until supper, when Shiro's neighbor came around to mooch food off of him. Harry was amused more than anything with Fujimura Taiga, who was quite taken with his natural politeness. Strangely, the woman got along really well with his owl, who took a nap outside the house.

Shiro showed Harry the room he made up, which was down the hall from his own, and the two went to sleep feeling rather cheerful. Considering how it could have gone, they both felt today was a success.

* * *

Shiro woke up the next morning to the smell of cooking eggs. He assumed his friend Sakura had come over and started breakfast without him...only to be beyond shocked to find out that Harry was cooking while Sakura chopped the vegetables for him.

The two were getting along quite well, and Sakura seemed completely relaxed around his new cousin.

Though Shiro did enjoy the look of shock Taiga had when she learned that Harry had cooked breakfast this morning instead of Shiro.

Shiro got his chance to talk to his cousin while they washed dishes.

"_I have to admit, I was surprised to see you cooking this morning."_

"_I wasn't aware that I wasn't allowed to use the kitchen. I just figured you could use a breakfast you didn't have to cook yourself. Your friend seemed rather nice."_

"_No, I don't mind if you use it. It's just that the only person who I normally let in here is Sakura. Fuji-nee can't cook to save her life, and I can't count the number of times she has nearly burned down the kitchen trying."_

"_My adopted aunt made sure I knew how to cook since I was old enough to reach the stove."_

Something about that statement bothered Shiro, but he couldn't figure out what.

"_What's your aunt like?"_

"_Trust me, you don't want to know them. If I had a choice I wouldn't know of them either,"_ said Harry calmly. His tone said that he really didn't want to talk about his adopted aunt.

It only sent even more warning bells in his mind.

Since Shiro had to go to school, Harry decided to wander around Fuyuki city for a while. He had Hedwig with him so he could find his way back. When he was stopped by a police officer wanting to know why he wasn't in school, Harry's British accent had the man waving him off.

By the time the school bell rang for the day, Harry ended up running into Shiro on his way out.

"_Harry? What are you doing here?"_

"_I went exploring and ended up here when the bell rang. It's a neat school you have here."_

"_It's alright."_

Shiro and Harry walked back to the house, and Harry spoke of his own school and the friends he had. For some reason his answers made Shiro suspicious, though he couldn't figure out why Harry was hiding things about his school.

It wasn't until he was helping out at his part-time job that it occurred to him what Harry might be hiding.

There was a chance Harry was a Magus like him. If that was the case, it only made sense that he would hide details of his obviously magical school. So later, Shiro showed his cousin his workshop, and was rewarded with the confirmation that Harry did in fact know about magic.

The wall that could have sprung up between them were averted, and the two cheerfully debated magic after supper, unaware of what would happen when a Magus and a Wizard came together.


	31. Unspoken Wars Chapter Two

_**Just to be clear, the only reason this was never published as it's own story was because it quickly became a crack! fic by chapter six. I respect my fans too much to post such a thing...though I will post the chapters already done on the Drabbles to determine whether it's worth a second look.**_

* * *

Harry had been staying with Shiro for most of the summer, rather enjoying Japan and the peaceful scenery. The two of them got along rather well, both being orphans who knew about magic.

While he had no idea how Shiro's magic worked, the fact he had some form of magic meant he could share his books with the teen, who dove into them with interest. When he introduced the boy to flying on a broom (Shiro wore Harry's invisibility cloak the entire time, and was having a lot of fun flying around Fuyuki park) the two hit it off again.

Shiro, in turn, rather liked having Harry around. He had been unaware of how lonely his house had felt with no one there but him. Harry was like the younger brother he never had.

Of course things weren't entirely idyllic.

A week after Harry came to visit, several owls looking exhausted nearly crashed into his tree. Every single one had a letter on it.

Harry picked through them with a pair of tongs, knowing that direct contact would activate any hidden port keys. (He had bought a book about the items, and learned the error of his ways.) Once he opened the letters, he scowled and pulled out a lighter that had the 'incendio' charm stored in it. He burned three of the five letters without reading the other two. The flames of two were an odd color, indicating that there was magic in them. The fourth letter was from the twins, asking if he was the mystery investor who had expressed an interest in their prank shop. Included was a two-way diary so he could talk to them without using another owl. The fifth letter was from Sirius, asking if he was alright because he had dropped off the map, as it were. (It also congratulated him if he was, saying it was the funniest prank he had ever seen in a while.)

Harry wrote in the diary first, and wasn't surprised to find it answer him back immediately.

_Any Marauders there?_

_**Harry!**_

**Absolutely spiffing to hear from you old boy!**

_**You've sent Dumbledore in a right tizzy when you vanished from your house.**_

Harry snorted. Even when writing, the twins did the double speaking trick.

_Are Ron and Hermione there with you two?_

**Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus...a whole lot of people are here in the Order.**

_**Dumbledore brought back the Order of the Phoenix, which his response to Death Eaters back in the first war.**_

**You sent everyone panicking when they realized you weren't at your aunt's.**

_GOOD! I hated it there, and I told Dumbledore as much first year! Can you pass a message to Ron and Hermione?_

**Absolutely old chap! Just one question...**

_Yes, I am the mystery investor. Meet with the goblin in charge of my account, and when he asked if I wanted to invest in a business in the magical communities the first thing that came to mind was your joke shop. I figured you could use the extra help._

_**Thanks for that. We've been able to get some hard to find ingredients for our pranks because of the extra cash in our vault.**_

_Now, can you tell Ron and Hermione not to bother writing to me? After their little information blackout I'm really not in the mood to talk to them._

_**It was Dumbledore's idea. He even got Mum to screen their letters.**_

_Figures. That reminds me, I found family! Apparently I have a cousin on my mother's side._

**Congrats! What's his name?**

_I don't know if it's a good idea to tell you. His name alone might tip off the old goat as to where I am. It's pretty easy to find a country of origin simply through a name, and I'm fairly sure Dumbledore can read minds._

_**You don't think he would do that to us to get to you, do you?**_

_Did your mother ever tell him about the bars on my window second year?_

_**She complained about it, yes.**_

_Do you really think he cares whether or not it's okay to look into other people's mind when he keeps sending me back to that house despite the fact I've complained about the Dursleys since first year? The second I found out I had an actual cousin, I was gone._

**...When you put it that way, we see your point. Any message for Sirius?**

Harry had a mischievous idea, as he wrote back.

_Tell Padfoot and Moony I'm fine and I might come back for school next year. I rather like this country, and I know they have magical training here, since my cousin definitely has magic of his own._

He could see the looks on their faces as they read that.

_**YOU KNOW WHO PADFOOT AND MOONY ARE?!**_

**Tell us!**

_I thought you knew. Padfoot and Moony are Sirius and Remus._

He could just imagine the look of shock on their faces...followed by a devious grin as they processed that information.

**We'll be sure to tell them! After we're done bowing and pleading for guidance from the Great Marauders.**

_Be sure to tell them I was the one to inform you! And take pictures!_

_**Talk to you later Harry.**_

**We're off to pester the Marauders!**

Harry laughed, as he could easily imagine the look of horror on Remus' face when he found out someone told the twins he was Moony. Sirius wouldn't care, but he would understand why Harry wouldn't say where he was.

He knew what it was like to be imprisoned for no good reason.

"_So what were you writing?"_

"_I was chatting with a pair of mischievous twins I know. This is a two-way diary that they sent. They were telling me what was going on back in England."_

"_Why did you burn the others though?"_

"_They didn't send me a single letter all summer, yet when I leave England all of a sudden they think I would accept being chastised for not telling them I was going on vacation? They really should have known better."_

Shiro had to admit, he had a good point. If they didn't care to send him letters all summer, then what made them think he would actually care to read ones that complained he had left the country? And to find family he didn't know he had?

"_So what was the devious smirk for?"_

"_That? That was exposing my surrogate uncles on my dad's side to the twins. They were known as pranking legends in their day, and the twins idolize them. For some reason they didn't want the twins to know that they were their idols. I can just see Moony's face when he finds out I told them."_

"_What kind of person names their kid Moony?"_

"_Actually it's a nickname. Remus is called Moony because he's a werewolf, and Sirius is called Padfoot because he can turn into a dog. Because of how big it is and the coloring, he's often mistaken for the Grim."_

"_...Werewolves are real?"_

"_Yes, but other than the nights of the full moon, they are perfectly harmless. Unfortunately most don't see it that way and treat them like they're evil because of something they can't control."_

"_That doesn't sound right at all."_

"_I agree. So what's on the agenda today?"_

"_Today's Sunday, so I was thinking we could hit the bookstore or something. Want to flip for who makes dinner later?"_

"_Sure!"_

* * *

It was all out chaos in the Order of the Phoenix. Ever since Harry went missing from his aunt's, Dumbledore had been sending the others out looking around the clock. There wasn't hide nor hair of the boy.

Then the twins were finally told that Remus and Sirius are really Padfoot and Moony (Ron and Hermione quickly claim their innocence of informing the two) and the boys immediately start stalking the former Marauders.

It wasn't until Sirius finally caved that he found out that his godson was long since out of the country and with a cousin he most likely found through the goblins.

Harry never said the cousin's name, so it was impossible to track him that way. And the goblins were strangely reluctant to assist them in the matter. Since Harry wasn't in Europe, it was impossible to find him through his wand, because the tracers only covered Europe. If he was in America or Asia, then they wouldn't be able to find him at all.

Finally, when Voldemort was informed of the fact Harry was missing, Dumbledore had enough.

He called Fawkes over from his perch and told him to find Harry. If he did, then he was to bring him back immediately. The boy had had his fun, but with Voldemort's return he was in grave danger.

* * *

Harry finished his letter to the Ministry, requesting to become an At-Home student. After thinking it over, he had decided to pull out of Hogwarts.

Seeing Shiro's reaction to his previous years had Harry reevaluating his schooling. His conclusion was that Hogwarts was simply too dangerous for him to stay there, and with the Ministry smear campaign (the goblins had given him a few issues of last month's _Daily Prophet_ while he was there) it was unlikely he would enjoy his fifth year.

Besides, he rather liked hanging out with Shiro, and it would be nice to catch up on his muggle education.

Hedwig took the letter and was off before lunch.

"_Who were you writing to?" _asked Shiro.

"_I was writing a letter to the Ministry asking to become an at-home student. Frankly I would rather stay here and join you in high school than go back and deal with that mess."_

"_What Ministry?"_

Harry blinked.

"_The Ministry of Magic? The ruling government for wizards?"_

"_I've never heard of it. The only ruling body for magic users is the Magus Association."_

Harry paused, then face-palmed.

"_I completely forgot we came from two different branches of magic."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Shiro, I'm not a Magus. I'm a wizard. Unlike you I can't cast magic without a focus, specifically my wand."_

Shiro blinked. He didn't know that.

"_Then are we even allowed to share our magic with each other?"_

"_I don't know. As far as I know, the Statute of Secrecy says that you can't tell normal people about magic or you would get your wand snapped. Since you do know about magic, even if it's a different branch, I have no idea if that covers it. Until we know for sure, let's just keep operating on the basis that we're allowed to pool our knowledge about magic together."_

"_I didn't even know about there being other schools of magic. The Magus Association doesn't like it if non-magical people find out, and we have to either kill or erase the memories of those who find out unless the person is given permission."_

"_If nothing else, I can have the twins ask Sirius or Remus. Sirius might know."_

"_Until then, what do you feel like for supper?"_

"_Miso sounds fine to me,"_ said Harry.

Hedwig returned with a letter from the Ministry, confirming the fact that Harry had opted to pull out of Hogwarts for the year and act as a stay-at-home student. He was surprised to learn that by doing so he had been given permission to practice magic outside school, within reasonable limits and out of sight of muggles.

It further went to give him a list of tutors and books he could purchase to help his studies.

Their neighbor Taiga helped Harry catch up on his missing school years, and it wasn't long before he was transferred into Shiro's homeroom class.

* * *

"_Hello, my name is Potter Harry. I hope we can become friends!"_ he said.

Taiga let him sit next to Shiro, since that way his cousin could help him with his homework. By lunch he was practically accosted by the other students, eager to learn about the new kid from England.

While the attention bothered him, he had to admit it was rather refreshing.

No Dudley to scare people away, no unwanted fame to put pressures on his back, and best of all no Malfoy to ruin his day!

He should have left England years ago.

* * *

Dumbledore read the notice from the Ministry and suppressed a growl. The boy had done one of the many things he should have been able to prevent.

He had resigned from Hogwarts for a year to learn magic abroad. Something he had hoped to avoid since it put the boy out of his grasp! He had though the blood wards would have prevented him from entering Gringotts, but had missed one key point.

The boy had taken a port key activated by his own magic, bypassing the wards. He had thought the horse faced woman would have kept such an item out of his grasp.

He would have to retrieve Harry another way. Fawkes had been unable to find the boy at all, which was odd. The only thing that could confuse a phoenix was a massive amount of natural magic...or a Magi barrier. And Magi hated wizards with a passion.

It was because of that fact that Dumbledore had overlooked one important fact. If Harry found a Magi who tolerated wizards to the point of actually speaking to him, then he would be completely safe from any manipulations or attempts by Dumbledore.

But the odds of finding one were so phenomenally high that it was ridiculous to even consider. Especially with the ban on anything to do with Wizards from the Clock Tower...

* * *

Rin Tohsaka had a problem. And his name was Harry Potter.

The second she saw him and the stick he had in his bag, she knew what he was.

A mere wizard had dared to enter _her_ school! Which meant he had to be living in her territory! That was something she couldn't stand, since it was known wizards were arrogant jerks who hated anything not human or pure magical.

So when Harry opts to eat on the roof without his cousin (and Fujimura-sensei confirmed the two were in fact cousins) Rin decides to pounce.

She was going to lay down the laws for this upstart who dared to intrude in her space.

* * *

Harry didn't even turn when the door opened, but when he felt the build up of magic behind him he took notice rather fast. He certainly wasn't expecting an irate witch though.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing in my territory, wizard?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Don't try to play innocent pal! I saw your wand earlier! What's a wizard doing in Magi territory?"_

Harry's eyes widened owlishly. The goblins had mentioned wizards didn't like Magi, but he didn't know it went both ways.

"_What's your problem? I haven't done anything to bother you. Hell, I don't even _know_ you!" _he protested.

"_My name is Tohsaka Rin, and this half of Fuyuki city is under the jurisdiction of my family! Just what do you think you're doing here?"_ she demanded.

Harry blinked. That's what she was so upset about? Because he had come into her place without her knowing?

"_I've been here for two months and I haven't bothered anyone. Why do you care about me living here anyway? I've never even met you before you stormed up here!"_

"_Everyone knows wizards are arrogant jerks who think they can lord over anyone who isn't from a purely magical family."_

"_You do realize that's exactly how _you're_ acting right now right? Like a pure blood?"_

Rin blinked. She hadn't noticed that. And the way he said pure blood triggered her mind.

"_You're a wizard, right?"_

"_Yes, I'm a wizard, but I'm not a pure blood like you assume. I'm half and half. My mother was a muggleborn and my dad was a pure blood. I have nothing against normal people OR Magi. I wasn't planning on bothering anyone when you came up and started yelling at me."_

Rin realized her mistake. Half bloods weren't nearly as bad as pure bloods, unless they were from a pure blood household.

"_Then what are you doing in Fuyuki City?"_

"_Escaping England. I was tired of being treated like a specimen under a microscope, so when I found out about my cousin I came here. Shiro didn't care if I stayed with him, and I wasn't aware of any Magi territories until you came here."_

"_Just watch your step, wizard. If I catch you doing anything, I'll be on your ass so fast you won't have time to blink!"_

"_O-kay...?"_

The rest of the day was rather normal compared to that.


	32. Unspoken Wars Chapter Three

Sirius read the diary with something akin to shock.

Harry's cousin...was a Magus. And one who lived in the territory of another Magus who was aware that Harry was a wizard. Harry had managed to get the girl off his back, but now she was watching him and by extension his cousin.

Magi and Wizards hadn't gotten along since the Dark Ages, when Magi moved with the times...and wizards stayed the same. The fights between the two groups got so bad that all out war was about to break out until someone came up with the idea of splitting the two completely.

Every since then, a tenuous peace had been kept, but only just.

And now his godson was living with a Magus who was unaware of the fact that the two groups hated each other with a passion. Of all the things that could have happened, that was one thing he never expected to.

He had few options at this point.

He could stay behind the wards of Grimmauld place and slowly die inside each day. He could tell Dumbledore where the boy was and allow him to bring Harry back to England away from the Magi. Or, and this was what he was leaning heavily on at this point, he could leave England and join Harry and his cousin to teach them both magic.

The Black family had a few Magi tomes from raids after they had killed the Magi in question. One of the Black family mottos was to never throw away anything magical. You never knew when it could come in handy. One of the books even said how to create magic circuits, like the Magi used.

With Hogwarts starting up again, Dumbledore would make fewer appearances. He couldn't leave the school with the teacher the Ministry was forcing on them. That was just asking for trouble.

And the only person who was liable to even notice what he was doing was Remus. With all the rows between Sirius and Dumbledore over being let out, everyone mostly avoided him.

He couldn't honestly claim to even contribute to the Order anymore.

After the third month Harry had left England, Sirius made up his mind after a particularly snide remark from Snape about how he was less than useless because of his status as a convict.

He was going to find Harry and teach the boys magic. With the books he had, he would be of more use there than he was in the Order. He would leave the diary to Remus in case the man wanted to join them.

* * *

Harry read the words on the page in disbelief.

"_What's up?"_

"_Sirius, he wants to know if it's alright to stay here, since he's been stuck doing nothing in England. He said he has some books that might help us learn magic."_

"_Are you sure? I thought your wand wouldn't respond to me?"_

"_According to him, his family has a few books on Magus magic, since they had a few...disagreements with them in the past and raided the houses after. One of them mentions magical circuits."_

Shiro's eyes widened. He had never really gotten the hang of magical circuits, and had resorted to using his nerves instead.

"_Well we do have a lot of space here..."_

"_I don't know if he can cook or not."_

"_Better not chance it. Who knows, he might hit it off with Fuji-nee."_

* * *

Sirius arrived at the Emiya estate in his canine form, which had Shiro looking at him with misgivings until he became human again.

"_It was a real pain sneaking onto that aero plane thingy."_

"_They're called airplanes, not aero planes."_

"_So where's this cousin of yours?"_

"_He's right in front of you,"_ said Harry with amusement.

Sirius held out his hand, and Shiro shook it without question.

"_Sirius Black."_

"_Emiya Shiro."_

Sirius pulled out a few books and finally found the one he wanted. After casting a minor translation charm on it, he handed it to Shiro.

_Everything You Need to Know About Magic Circuits, and What NOT to Do._

Shiro soon started to read the book...before banging his head on the table in disbelief.

Apparently he had gone about it all wrong for years and didn't think to ask his father about it. Fortunately he was still young enough to access them properly...but they would be slightly diminished because he hadn't known how to use them correctly.

The only real issue with Sirius' arrival came when Tohsaka confronted him. Apparently she had noticed the new wizard in her area and wasn't pleased about it.

* * *

"_I can tolerate you being here, you rarely do anything to annoy me. But I will not allow more of you walking around like you own the place!"_

"_Just out of curiosity, what does your family's magical crest look like?"_

The question threw Rin for a loop, before she said hotly _"What's it to you what it looks like?"_

"_My godfather mentioned that one of the families his ancestors raided was called Tohsaka. Or at least sounded like it anyway. They have a weird crest like shape on the back of the books and I was curious if it was your family."_

Rin blinked. A hundred years ago her family _was_ attacked by wizards, which was part of the reason she hated them so much. So she drew a rough outline of what her magical crest looked like. Harry nodded in satisfaction.

"_I think we have some books that belong to you. I can bring them to school tomorrow if you want. We don't have any real use for them since they're too advanced for us. We couldn't make heads or tails of them."_

"_Bring them here two hours before school. If they are from my family I want them back,"_ said Rin.

* * *

The next morning Harry showed up two hours early and he had the books with him. Rin took one look at the crests on the back and her jaw dropped in absolute shock. He had several missing magical tomes and notes from her ancestors which were thought destroyed.

"_What do you want in exchange for these?"_

She wasn't a fool. He had to want something if he was giving these back.

"_You're pretty good at Magi-style magic right?"_

"_Yes. What of it?"_

"_My cousin Shiro is relearning how to use his magical circuits. Unfortunately we barely know anything about how to use them or cast your kind of spells. How about in exchange for returning your family books you help him out?"_

"_Am I allowed to boss him around?"_ she asked.

"_So long as you don't go overboard. He really wasn't able to learn much from his dad before he passed away."_

"_What was his father's name?"_

"_Kiritsugu Emiya."_

Rin's jaw dropped again. Shiro was the son of the Magus Killer?!

"_You have a deal!"_

* * *

Shiro was less than happy that Harry had made a deal involving him. However when he learned why Harry did it, he admitted the younger boy had a point. Without a decent teacher Shiro would get nowhere fast. He barely ranked apprentice level when it came to magic as it was.

Tohsaka had been horrified to learn he had used his nerves as magic circuits for years. At least he had found the problem and took steps to correct it. She was less than impressed with Sirius Black, but they had reached an agreement.

They would ignore each other in exchange for Sirius not doing anything that would anger her, since it was technically _her_ territory.

He still had a good laugh at the way Tohsaka bossed Shiro around when it came to magic. Apparently returning the books had brought them into her good graces, which had tipped the scales in their favor.

So long as she allowed them to live there, the Ministry and the Magus Association couldn't touch them. That meant they couldn't send any Aurors to try and arrest Sirius, and dementors would be met with extreme prejudice.

If he had known that before, Sirius would have bartered with a friendly Magus a hell of a lot sooner.

If anything, by joining forces with the Tohsaka heir, Harry gained a distinct advantage over Voldemort and the Ministry. Since Shiro wasn't about to suffer alone under the girl's exacting standards, he convinced the Magus to unlock Harry's circuits as well.

She honestly didn't see a problem with it, since it meant she could torture Harry under the guise of training him in magic. Sirius was too old for it, but he could still laugh at the boy's suffering.

However Harry ended up surprising both of the more experienced Magi. Once he was told how to use the circuits Rin awoke in him (which hurt like a bitch but he didn't cry out that much, barely a whimper according to a surprised Sirius) he ended up taking to it like a duck to water.

He was better than Shiro was, which somewhat annoyed his cousin.

Rin quickly figured out what Harry's element was, once she studied his prana. His Element was Wind. Since Sirius began Harry's animagus training, Harry was soon about to start the transformation process.

Apparently his Element influenced his animal form, because Harry was something with wings and feathers.

He would almost say it was a dragon, except he had never heard of a dragon that had feathers on it's wings.

* * *

As Shiro lay in his futon, he thought back to when his life changed again. And it all started when his cousin first found him. Harry had changed a lot of things in Shiro's life, and he could honestly say he preferred the chaos that it had become to the way it was before.

Harry had livened up his home, and made things more interesting. He had never dismissed Shiro's dream to help others, in fact he was more interested in _helping_ Shiro accomplish that dream. When asked, Harry mentioned that a friend had once said he had a 'saving people' complex.

They were so alike that it was scary sometimes. The two of them just clicked. And Shiro couldn't help but think his adopted father would have liked Harry too.

Another thing was that Harry often went out of his way to help Sakura with her brother Shinji. Some days, Shiro wondered why he was even friends with the boy, since he was a bit of an ass.

But what Shiro loved the most was that Harry shared his ability and passion for magic. It wasn't until they both realized they were from two different schools that they hit a snag, but even that was overcome because they didn't hate each other or think the other way was wrong. Harry loved magic purely for it's own sake. He didn't think magic circuits were bad, just different. The only thing he didn't like were the Unforgivables from wizard's magic, and that because they were so easily abused.

Hell, thanks to Harry, Shiro finally found out what he had been doing wrong with his magic and he had finally gotten past reinforcement.

When Sirius showed up, things livened up even more. Fuji-nee kept shooting him speculative glances occasionally. Because of the two wizards in his home, he finally felt like something that had been missing since his dad died fall back into place.

It was like he was living with a family again. Harry and Sirius never asked for anything but a place to stay and someone to talk to. And after a while, they really grew on him. So much so that he was having trouble remembering how lonely it was after Kiritsugu died.

As Shiro lay there, thinking about how things had changed for the better, he couldn't help but fall asleep with a grin on his face.

* * *

_Time Skip One year, Six Months, and Two weeks..._

In the past year, few things had changed as much as life in Shiro's house. For starters Sirius was dating Taiga, who apparently had a thing for older men. The fact the man was slightly over thirty helped a bit with her grandfather and her family.

Another thing that had changed was that Remus, Harry's other uncle and known werewolf, came to visit and ended up staying. All he had to do to earn approval from Rin was debate magic with the girl. Because of the fact he was a werewolf, he sometimes came into contact with Magi and knew a bit more than Sirius had when he first arrived. Aside from those three, no other wizards dared come that deep into known Magus territory.

Thanks in part to Rin, Harry was now a registered animagus and he had come far into his attempts at using magical circuits instead of wands. As long as he passed the Ministry exams, they could care less what sort of magic he studied.

Rin had finally managed to figure out what his origin was, and to be blunt it had shocked her at the time.

Harry's origin was Magic, plain and simple. It certainly explained how he was able to handle the strain of learning both wand and circuit based magic without blowing his core out like Sirius initially had feared.

Because of her teachings, both Shiro and Harry could competently be called Magi, though they still ranked at apprentice level. Their debates, on the other hand, went up to actual Magi level.

Sirius had called his godson a misplaced Ravenclaw when he first heard him debating a particular style of magic with Rin.

Another change was that Sakura had accidentally revealed to be a fellow Magi one night when Harry caught her reading a book with an odd crest that Rin only barely recognized.

He later learned it belonged to the family she was adopted into. After that, she started to come around more often and stayed over nights debating with Rin and the others.

Harry could tell Rin appreciated the chance to see her sister. Even if it annoyed Shinji to no end when Harry unofficially banned the boy from ever returning.

When asked by Shiro, all Harry would say was that Shinji was the Magi equivalent of a Malfoy, and a particularly annoying one at that.

The Emiya household had become something of a school for magic for those who could use it. Having teachers like Rin and Remus really helped those who lived there progress farther than they would have on their own. Though Taiga was the only one kept out of the loop.

To Sakura, the Emiya household was a safe haven from her family. To Rin, it was a place to chat with her peers and to debate magic without having to worry about offending the others too much. To Sirius it was a place to get to know his godson, who's life he missed out of. To Remus, it was a home that accepted everything about him, good and bad. To Harry, it was the chance to actually live his life the way he wanted, not how others dictated it.

But to Shiro, the house had become more than just a house. It had become a real home, something that had been missing since Kiritsugu died. Everyone treated the others civilly and with respect, yet they acknowledge the others privacy.

No one had ever entered his workshop without asking. And that was something he took pleasure in.


	33. Unspoken Wars Chapter Four

Rin bounced up to Harry with a pleased glint in her eye.

"What happened and why do you scare me right now?" he asked. In the year that he had been here, he had helped Shiro, Rin and Sakura learn English to the point that they could speak it properly. As a result, everyone in the Emiya house could speak two languages.

On the plus side, their grades in English had never been higher.

"Thanks to you, I got my family crest a year early! I don't have to deal with that damn priest anymore!"

"Uh, what?"

Rin gave him a look.

"I was still apprenticing under a priest who knew my father until I could pass a few exams. As a result, I didn't have access to my family crest that my father had. I was supposed to get it next year under the usual time table, but because of our little study and discussion group I was able to pass them anyway."

"Congratulations, I guess."

"You do realize what this means don't you?"

"Not particularly, other than you're now allowed to cast without anyone to hold you hand."

"It means that even if the Magus Association finds out you've been living in my territory, they can't do a thing about it. That half of Fuyuki is officially under my purview."

"Wait, so you mean the Ministry now can't go through that priest to get to us?"

"Exactly!"

"Sweet. Does this mean you want to abandon our little discussion group?"

"Not on your life Potter! Do you know how hard it is to find someone willing to talk to me about that and not act like complete and utter pricks? Hell, most of Clock Tower is like that, and if they ever learned I let you stay and even shared spells with you they would look down on me!"

"Frankly I think Clock Tower is only slightly better than Hogwarts. At least there learning isn't completely restricted."

"Whereas Hogwarts is so backwards it's pathetic."

"Agreed."

* * *

Rin was so pleased about getting her family crest she almost missed the odd feeling in the air. It wasn't until she paused and actually felt for it that she recognized it.

It had been ten years since she felt it, but she could recall that feeling quite well. It was the same one that killed her father.

The Grail Wars, which weren't supposed to start for another fifty years, had started again.

She was torn between what to do. On one hand, she would undoubtedly have to join to have any say in what would happen. On the other, she would probably be unable to have her usual discussions with the others. She didn't want to drag them into the War between Seven Servants.

Though knowing her luck, Shiro and Harry would be dragged in whether they wanted to or not. At least she would have some back up.

She still remembered Kotomine's disbelieving expression when he found out that not only was she allowing three wizards from Hogwarts to stay in her territory, but that she often went to an apprentice Magi's house in order to have some very in-depth discussions on magic in general. She still had a picture of his face in her scrapbook.

From what she could tell, only one servant had been summoned. From the feel alone she guessed it was berserker.

She was halfway to Shiro's house when she noticed a woman who was definitely Irish walking past her in the street.

She had a case in her hand that looked very suspicious...and after sensing Berserker she had a feeling the woman was there to summon a servant.

If she was right, then chances were that she was going to the church since it was neutral territory to do it. Rin thought about what Shiro and Harry would do and made up her mind before she realized she was halfway across the street.

"Excuse me," she said in English.

The woman turned, and gave her an odd look.

"If you're heading to the church, then I would recommend summoning your Servant somewhere else. The Priest in charge of the church is such a weasel he might stab you in the back."

"How did you...? Who are you?"

"I'm Tohsaka Rin, the Magus in charge of this district. And I just felt Berserker being summoned."

Bazett looked at her in surprise. The girl had taken a leap of faith and guessed correctly that she was a fellow Magus.

"How on Earth did you know I'm a Magus?"

"You are clearly Irish, and the only foreigners around here are British. Even then they made sure to alert me when they entered my territory. It was pretty obvious after Berserker was just summoned that you are here for the War."

Bazett couldn't fault her reasoning. A foreigner in Magus territory after a summoning was pretty suspicious.

"So how do you know about the Priest?"

"He was my magic teacher until recently. I don't trust him at all, and you really shouldn't. I wouldn't put it past him to try and steal your Servant, since he was in the previous one."

"Do you know of anywhere else I could summon him?"

"Actually, I do. Luckily they all know about magic and they speak English."

If Bazett was shocked by Rin actually warning her from the church, she was floored by the simple fact of who she was going to meet.

She thought the girl had allowed some fellow Magi to live in her territory in exchange for a bribe. She certainly didn't expect three wizards there!

"Yo, Rin! Who's this?" asked the black haired teen.

"Another Magus. I'm fairly sure the Grail Wars have started up again."

"Grail Wars? You mean that battle royale with the Seven Servants you mentioned? I thought it wasn't supposed to start up for a few more decades," said the boy.

"Berserker was just summoned. And I'm not about to let someone go to the church with that weasel in charge," she said hotly.

"Don't blame ya at all. That place gives me the creeps. You can feel the Dark magic coming off of it," shuddered the older man.

"What's with her?" asked the other man, a tawny haired gentleman she was almost sure was a werewolf by his eyes.

"Don't you remember Remus? Magi and Wizards don't normally get along. She's probably in shock," said the boy amused.

"How...? How is this possible?" she asked in disbelief.

"You want to hear the long version or the short?" quipped the boy. Rin slapped him on the head absentmindedly.

"Long version. I can always bring Lancer out tomorrow night and I have the feeling this story is worth waiting," said Bazett.

Hell, with a tale like this she wouldn't have to pay for drinks with her fellow Enforcers for a year at least!

"Well it starts like this..." said the boy.

By the time Harry finished explaining how he had originally left London to find his cousin who he had never even met, Shiro had started supper. Sakura had come by earlier and was helping him. She didn't even bat an eye to the fact that another Magus had come to Fuyuki.

Her grandfather had felt Berserker's appearance just as Rin had earlier.

Bazett was in absolute shock as Harry told her about making the deal with Rin...of course said girl snarkily added she originally had allowed them to stay mostly because Harry helped her acquire jewels for her families craft.

By the time supper was done, (in which they had to postpone because of Taiga coming over to mooch off food) Harry got to the point where Sirius came over and started to help them learn magic.

When he finally finished, she was naturally impressed.

She first looked at Rin and said "You know most Magi wouldn't let a wizard into their territory in the first place."

"I didn't even know he was there until I saw his wand at school. I confronted him and he presented an argument I couldn't win, so I let him off. As long as he didn't do anything to cause me trouble, I didn't feel like chasing him out. When the second one showed up, he bargained for both of them with some books Black had in his family library that belonged to my ancestors. When Remus showed up Harry convinced me to let _him_ stay with a line to the goblins and as many jewels from their family vaults as I needed. Considering how much I would have had to pay to buy the same quality I naturally accepted."

"Plus it gave you two new errand boys to push around," said Harry playfully.

Bazett looked at him owlishly.

"Wait...do you mean..."

"Harry here has an element of Wind and an Origin of Magic. He can use both wand and circuits to cast. And it took us ages to figure out why Shiro was having such problems with his... Honestly having an Element and Origin like that..." said Rin.

"You mean to tell me...that a _wizard_ is able to use magic circuits and hasn't been throwing a fit?" she said incredulous.

"I'm not normal," said Harry dryly.

"You kidding? I still can't wait to see the Ministry's face when they find out he's willingly learning to use circuits like a Magus! The press is going to flip when they find out the boy-who-lived is breaching the unspoken agreement between the magic classes!" said Sirius grinning.

Bazett could only do one thing when her mind processed that information. She passed out from shock.

The boy-who-lived, the Wizard's golden boy who defeated a dark lord...learning how to become a Magus. She would never have to pay for her drinks again with a tale like that!

Remus lightly poked Bazett, and said with clear amusement "I think we broke her."

Sirius levitated the woman and her case to one of the spare bedrooms. When she woke up she would hope it was all a dream, before she found out the hard way it wasn't.

Still, since Harry was in the jurisdiction of a Magus and following the guidelines of both sets, she didn't have to do a thing.

There wasn't any rule stating you couldn't learn both sets of magic after all.

* * *

Since they were interested in Lancer, and they were all magical, she summoned her Servant with Shiro's permission in the back yard where the neighbors wouldn't see.

Sirius and Remus had gone over the yard and found Kiritsugu had placed an interesting ward around the perimeter of his house. With Shiro's permission, they expanded on it while leaving the original in place.

And since it was Magus territory, they didn't have to worry about the Ministry bothering them for placing such heavy duty wards around a muggle neighborhood so long as the Magus in charge of the area didn't care.

Rin actually helped them with the runes, since she had a few books she wanted to try out and it was a lesson on magic that everyone would enjoy.

Now the Emiya house was almost as secure as Rin's home, though they had to leave a few wards out because they didn't want to alert the other neighbors that something was amiss about the house.

As far as Taiga was concerned, they were doodling old runes to bring good luck to the house.

It had the added benefit of having the Mafia family next door overlook odd lights, since they admitted they often set off fireworks in the backyard.

They just thought Sirius was a pyro and left it at that.

Bazett finished the ritual, and with a crash Lancer appeared.

He shouldered his red spear and looked at her.

"Are you my master?"

She held up her left hand, showing the Command Mantra.

"I am."

"Servant Lancer, at yer service," he said with a grin.

"Huh...so that's a Servant. If I didn't know any better I would swear he was Irish," said Sirius.

Lancer was a bit surprised by the audience, but said nothing. It was pretty clear he was in a magical household and the war hadn't really started.

Besides, the rules only said to kill witnesses if they saw him fighting another Servant.

"He is Irish," said Bazett.

"Oh good. Anyone in the mood for some whiskey?" asked Sirius with a grin.

"I am not cleaning up your mess again Sirius. Not after last time!" said Harry.

"Seconded!" said Shiro.

"Third!" said Remus.

Rin growled. By process of deduction that left her or Sakura, and Sakura had already gone home.

Lancer grinned at Sirius.

"You're my kinda guy! Bring on the booze!"

Bazett groaned and face palmed. At least she got the one she wanted. She and Rin left the house for a bit.

She went to the church with Rin, and left feeling like something was horribly wrong about that place. Now more than ever she was glad that she had taken the girl's offer to meet with her friends. She had left Lancer with Sirius as they left to get drunk. The Irish hero fell in love with the fire whiskey the man had, and they got along very well.

Too well in her opinion.

* * *

"How interesting. The Irish Enforcer has already summoned Lancer..." said Kotomine.

"Yeah, and she did it in a place where we can't get to him," said a voice from behind.

A youth with golden hair and arrogant attitude came up from behind him.

"The best laid plans of mice and men," said Kotomine.

"Whatever. What are we going to do now? Thanks to that girlie of yours, we missed getting Lancer. And I doubt any of the others would be willing to summon their Servant here. Not if she's keeping an eye out for foreigners."

"Ah, but you are forgetting something. Not all the Servants have been summoned yet. If need be we can give the Command Mantra to young Shinji."

Gil grimaced. He disliked the Matou heir, because the kid was a slimy brat who had no sense of taste.

He had run into the wizard kid who had bargained his way into Rin's good graces once, and the kid reminded him far too much of Arturia. And it wasn't because of the British accent either.

Still, he did show the respect that he deserved, which was more than most people did until he whipped out his Noble Phantasm to scare them.

That was more than enough to get his interest.

* * *

Bazett was surprised when Shiro offered the use of his spare guest house. It wasn't like it got much use outside of the times Rin or Sakura stayed the night over. And since they were well used to people casting magic in the back, she didn't have to hide what she was doing.

Considering she had come to Fuyuki fully expecting to have to pay for a hotel to sleep in until the war was over, this was more than she had hoped for.

In fact the only thing Shiro asked for was that she share her knowledge on magic with them. Considering Bazett was naturally curious about how a trio of wizards managed to stay in the good graces of a Magus, she agreed.

Besides, as the Tohsaka girl pointed out, the chances of them becoming involved in the war one war or another were very high indeed. Harry had already expressed an interest in trying his hand at Summoning.

Bazett still couldn't figure out how three wizards managed to get in the good graces of a Magus. Or why they were so accepting of the youngest having a cousin who was a Magus.

The situation was so damn bizarre that she couldn't help but want to see how it would turn out.

Besides, it nice to hear English spoken in accent she could recognize so far from home.


	34. Dragon Eyed Deus Chapter One

_In the years before Nadil kidnapped the Dragon Queen and nearly killed the Dragon Lord, Lykouleon, there was a child. The boy was the spitting image of his father, with his mother's hair and eyes. He even inherited her Dragon Eyes._

_However, that child was kidnapped when he was a month old, and sent away by the then minor demon Nadil._

_His name was Deus, named after the Dragon Lord's dragon._

_Two years after Nadil made the Dragon Queen Raseleane barren, the people mourned at the thought of the Dragon Lord's line ending. However that all changed one fateful day when a flash of light appeared in the castle._

* * *

Lykouleon looked at the child in the infirmary. He had been found a day ago, bleeding, bruise and completely unconscious from magical drain.

The fact he could breath easily proved he wasn't a demon.

However when he opened his eyes, Lykouleon's breath caught in his throat.

They were the purest emerald green he had ever seen. And they seemed so...empty.

It took the child a week to get used to the people in the castle, and a month before they found out he had Dragon Eyes.

They only figured that out when they saw how unpredictable his magic was, and someone actually noticed his green eyes changed color briefly.

They still had yet to name him.

* * *

"Aren't you a little darling?" said Raseleane.

The child smiled at her, despite the fact he was about to be turned into a living dress up doll.

"Lady Raseleane, there's something in the yard...it looks like an egg," said one of the maids.

The child lit up and immediately moved to get the egg.

"You want the egg?" said Raseleane.

The child nodded.

One of the maids retrieved it from the yard. The child held it as if it were a beloved toy. It was a pale pearl color and was very warm to the touch.

"What is it?" asked the maid.

"Dragon," said the child. It was the first word he spoke.

Outside there was Rath with Fire.

"Ah Rath! Come meet little Aeris," said Raseleane.

Rath was easily a year older than the new child.

Rath looked at the kid with interest. It was rare to see a child as young as him in the castle.

"R...ath?" said the boy.

"That's right, my name's Rath! And this is Fire and Crewger!" said the bright little boy.

"F...ire. Crew...ger..."

Rath beamed at the kid. Once he was properly dressed, Aeris took to following Rath around the castle like a little duckling.

* * *

"That child is unusual. He takes to magic like it's nothing," said Ruwalk.

"He uses wind magic like it's nothing. And what's with that egg?" said Kai-Stern, who was hiding from Alfeegi who was demanding expense reports...again.

"It's too big to be a normal animal, yet it doesn't have any demonic energy coming from it," said Ruwalk.

"It's not fairy either," said Lykouleon.

"And look at the way he follows Rath. It's strange," said Ruwalk.

"Maybe not. After all, Rath _is_ the only child in the castle and he's about the same age. Why wouldn't Aeris stick around him?" said Lykouleon, ignoring the pain in his heart.

Raseleane loosing her ability to bear his child had struck them all. It was just another crushing blow after losing his son Deus to Nadil's foul plan.

* * *

**Years have passed, and Aeris grew to be a fine fighter. He and Rath were inseparable, even after the incident in which the Renkin Wizard Kharl kidnapped Rath and turned him into the demon of Dusis.**

**Despite Kharl's best efforts otherwise, Aeris' strange other form stuck to Rath like a bad omen, though where Rath's form killed, Aeris' form healed.**

**He was the only one who knew the truth about Rath, and his fate.**

**The egg, which had appeared shortly after Aeris was found, never hatched. But it changed color shortly after the death of the Dragon Lord's dragon of Light, Deus. Where it had been a pearl color before, it was now silver.**

**Around that time, Aeris began carrying a single dagger on his person along with the egg, which never left his side.**

**This year, Aeris turns eleven...and a new adventure awaits him.**

* * *

"What's Hogwarts?" said Aeris. It had been three years since Rath was turned into a demon, and out of the entire castle, Rath only trusted Aeris anymore.

What the Dragon tribe failed to realize was that the reason Kharl failed in keeping Aeris away was because no matter how many time he was killed, Aeris kept returning.

This was because Aeris' other form was that of a Light Phoenix, and like true phoenixes, he was immortal. Because of his young age, Aeris erased all memory of each death. All he knew was that he had to find Rath.

And Rath knew that his younger brother (as he called Aeris) had died multiple times just to stay with him.

"I have no idea," said Rath.

"Hogwarts? Never heard of it," said Kai-Stern.

Kai-Stern was the diplomat of the Dragon Court, and had been all over the kingdom. If he hadn't heard of this Hogwarts place, then perhaps it was a joke.

Over the next month, many owls appeared with similar letters. All of them address to Aeris, and some for Rath.

Eventually a great ball of flame appeared with matching letters, one for each boy.

It was resting on Aeris' shoulder, having immediately found a kindred spirit in the child. A phoenix could always recognize it's own after all.

"Aeris, why don't you explain for us?" said Lykouleon. Over the years he had viewed Aeris as his own missing son.

"He said his name is Fawkes, and that this Hogwarts place is for budding magic users to learn how to use their craft. We might even find some new fortunetellers there, apparently one of the classes is Divination."

"Is that all?" asked Alfeegi.

"He said that he could bring one of the teachers here to explain things properly, but it might take a while because he had to travel through dimensions to get here. According to him, the world he's from doesn't have a dragon _or_ demon tribe, and faeries are a mockery of their true selves," said Aeris. He looked particularly annoyed with that knowledge.

They asked several questions, and Aeris played translator, sometimes interpreting the wording so loosely that Fawkes pecked him a few times on the head, or whacked him with his wing.

In all honesty it amused the others when the phoenix slapped him.

It vanished in a ball of flame and reappeared a week later with a stern looking woman wearing a rather...odd...outfit.

_(One explanation of Hogwarts and a trip to Diagon with Lykouleon and Kai-Stern later...)_

They couldn't believe how idiotic those people were. Branding others evil just because they weren't pure human? Making it harder for those cursed to gain employment because of a disease? It made them sick.

Still...perhaps this would be a good thing. Aeris had apparently figured out how to go between worlds thanks to a few tips from the Fire phoenix Fawkes, and so could transport them at will between the worlds.

And Rath might get a hobby that didn't involve demon-hunting and actually heal.

That was the only reason Lykouleon agreed to send them to that school. Besides, Rath would have Fire masqurading as his pet and Aeris would be taking Crewger. Under no circumstances were they to be put into separate houses. If worst came to worse, Aeris was the only one who would be able to calm Rath down to bring him home.

* * *

Aeris was bored. With the minor glamor Crewger had on him, most people didn't pay him any attention. Rath was taking a nap and Fire was snoring on his shoulder.

Aeris was reading something Lykouleon would have disapproved of, mostly because the book had been written by the same demon who killed him multiple times and turned Rath into his demon form.

It was the Demon Bible which detailed exactly how to create demons from scratch.

Aeris had a good reason for reading this. He knew eventually they would need an army, both in this world and their own. What better way to annoy the demons than to turn their own practices against them? Besides, he was bored and it was likely to be the only thing from his world that he would have any fun with.

He had a sudden chill, and his hand immediately brushed the dagger at his side. It had taken a great deal of convincing on Lykouleon's part to get McGonagall not to raise a fuss about Rath's sword and his dagger.

The fact he had no intention of using on the students helped his case.

The fact that she couldn't remove it even when she tried (as a demonstration mind you) also didn't hurt.

For reasons unknown to everyone but Aeris, the dagger could only be removed by him. And only he knew the true purpose of both the dagger and the egg itself.

They weren't important, and once their purpose was fulfilled they could be discarded. They were merely the vessels. The problem was getting the power inside of them to mature, which was why he had been given them. He was their caretaker.

He just couldn't wait to see the look on Lykouleon and the Dragon Court's faces when they found out that the Court had been complete the entire time. Unfortunately his dragon was still without form, and he needed a certain demon's blood to start the process.

The door opened, ruining his musings. A gangly red haired boy was obviously looking for someone and they didn't fit the bill. He closed the door and left. It opened again, this time there was a girl with a bushy mane. She was clearly looking for someone as well, and closed the door.

Aeris closed his book and put it in the satchel that he always carried that contained the egg.

Finally he started to drift off into a nap right as Rath woke up. They two had agreed to nap in shifts until they got this whole sorting mess over with.

* * *

_He was floating. The place was black as pitch and he was the only light._

"_Where am I?"_

"_You are dead kid. Sorry, but the gods seem to like messing with me too much," said a voice bluntly. The man looked like his father, only with green eyes and a lightning shaped scar._

"_Who are you?"_

"_I'm an alternate version of you, one who has mastered death and got sick and tired of reliving the same damn scenarios. Hence why I let you die so that we could have this little chat."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you don't belong here. Very few of these scenarios end well for us, and I want to change that. Which is why I am going to send you to your true parents along with some gifts. But first... Mort, get out here! You aren't dragging him off to where the Potters are waiting!" shouted the man._

"_**Harry,"** said the cloaked figure. He didn't sound too pleased._

"_Death."_

"_**You can't change things Potter. He will have to take the mantle of Death's Master as so many of your alternates have. His light can kill the Dark Lord."**_

"_Yes, but I am proposing an alternate ending. One where he actually knows what the word love means and isn't a living weapon to an ungrateful people. One that will give the Headmaster a coronary once he realizes his plans are wrecked before they fully mature."_

"_**Go on,"** said Death. As long as Harry wasn't trying to change his alternates fate too much he would be willing to play along._

"_This child was taken from his true parents and forced into a shape that doesn't belong to him. I suggest sending him back with a few...additions to make things interesting."_

"_**You wish to save the Knight? You know his fate do you not?"**_

"_I know his fate. But I can't stand idly by while someone cries from that much betrayal and loneliness, you know that. He needs someone he can trust without question, if only so they can talk," said Harry._

"_**You'll be toeing a thin line,"**__Death warned._

"_When have I ever cared about that? So what do you say Death? Shall we alter the fate of these two?"_

"_**What the hell, I was getting bored watching things play out anyway. You have a deal...Master."**_

_Death vanished without a trace. Harry picked up the tiny soul which had understood everything that had occurred up till now._

"_Now that's dealt with, let's get started with the fun part. In my hand are three things. An egg, a dagger, and a connection to a certain power. Normally what you will receive in nearly two decades would only overtake any power I give you, but in this case it will merely amplify that natural quality. You, young Deus of Draqueen, are the new Wind Dragon Knight. Your parents are the current Dragon Lord Lykouleon and his now barren Queen Raseleane."_

_Harry held up each item._

"_This egg is a vessel through which the Light Dragon will be reborn once his current body is used to save someone who will become very important to you. When the time is right you shall give that person this egg and it will hatch into a new form for the Light Dragon Deus._

"_This dagger contains what is left of the Wind Dragon's soul. It will never leave your side, and it will never break. You will only be able to draw it in the presence of the blood of the original Wind Dragon. When you take it out, you must draw the blood of the demon who has consumed the Wind Dragon's original body and cut yourself to insure the connection between dragon and knight fully mature._

"_And last but not least, the body of the phoenix. Normally you would be a dragon, due to your lineage. However events that are to come mean that you will need a more...eternal form, than that of a dragon. No matter how many times you die or are killed, you will burst into flames and return to your previous age within a few hours at most. Due to your nature, you shall become a Light phoenix, which is one of the rarer breeds. When the time comes, you will be able to assume this form and your original one at will."_

"_Why?" asked the tiny light that was Deus, soon to be named Aeris._

"_Because I am sick and tired of my alternates living a hellish life thanks to abusive relatives. You're not the first one I've messed with, but I hope you will fair better than the rest did. The fates really hate my meddling, even if I am getting revenge for them ruining my life."_

_He snapped his fingers, as if remembering something._

"_I almost forgot the best gift of all. When you turn five you will be able to change your appearance at will. That will hide the special qualities of your mother's eyes until you need them," said Harry._

"_Thank you."_

"_All I've ever wanted was to give one of my incarnations a childhood. You just have one of the better chances than most."_

Aeris woke up to Rath's shaking. He remembered the event shortly after his ability to shift forms had awakened.

Rath handed him one of the chocolates, and Aeris bit into it with relish. After a while they changed into the uniforms, both bored out of their mind.


	35. Dawn of the Shark Chapter One

There must always be a beginning, just as there must be an ending. They aren't always happy, or pleasant, they just are.

Which is why one rather cold November morning, an innocent child's future was set into motion by the unlikeliest of chances. A man, trying to remember where he parked his rented car in the almost cookie cutter homes of Privet Drive, happens to spot the basket on the doorstep of Number 4.

Curious as to what was in it (he was inquisitive by nature, to his mother's ire) he is horrified to find an infant with the thinnest of blankets. The child's face was slightly pale, and it was clear he had been left outside for some hours.

The man scooped up the boy, and when he found his car he drove straight to the nearest hospital. The note had made it very clear...the boy's parents were dead.

After answering questions by the police, he came to a decision. His career was at a dead end, and he was a well respected college professor who had more or less left the world of marine biology. He had no wife or family, but he was well off enough to own his own home, in Scotland near the infamous Loch.

His decision made, he went to the nurse who helped him fill out the adoption paperwork. He paused, and wondered what the boy's name should be.

The paper hadn't mentioned the name, so he assumed that the aunt (who, when she found out that her sister was dead, wanted nothing to do with her newly orphaned nephew) knew of it. After speaking to the woman, he decided against asking.

"Chris. His name will be Chris."

The newly named Chris, who had been given a clean bill of health by the doctor, was handed over to his new father. Thirty year old Daniel O'Neil, took his new son and drove back to the hotel.

_(In the afterlife)_

James and Lily watched the scene play out, and when they realized a squib who had left their world adopt their son without question, they couldn't help the cries of relief. Lily had been beyond furious that Albus had tried to leave their precious son with her sister, who she knew very well _hated _anything to do with her world.

There was a reason Lily had cut almost all ties from her sister when she graduated.

* * *

Petunia, when she was informed of the adoption, had decided to take some precautions to prevent her nephew from ever being sent to her.

She agreed to sign off on the papers, since as the oldest living relative of the child she was his guardian, on the condition that the adoption be closed. She wanted nothing to do with her sister's child, and had the man swear never to mention her name to the boy.

After meeting her, Daniel had agreed. The only way the magical communities would ever find their Savior would be through the Hogwarts letters, and even then it was unlikely the boy would be made aware that his birth name was Harry Potter.

* * *

Daniel couldn't believe it when he realized that his son Chris was magical. He had asked the aunt what the boy's last name had been, and upon learning he had accidentally adopted the Potter heir, had set up a meeting with the goblins before his son was three. Griphook had been rather sympathetic for the man, and had immediately reset the magical guardianship of Chris to his adopted father.

To say Dumbledore had been displeased to learn he no longer had control of the Potter boy's vaults would be an understatement. Particularly when the goblins flat out refused to name who had it had changed to.

Daniel found his living suddenly improved after the change, and did his best to raise his son to be a good man. By the time Chris entered primary school, he was devouring any book he could get his hands on.

Because of his former profession, those books were mostly marine biology books. Chris was absolutely fascinated with sharks.

When Chris was seven, Daniel took him to see the coelacanth, a prehistoric fish once believe extinct until a fisherman pulled one out of his nets in 1938. Chris had been hooked the moment he saw it.

When they returned home, Chris immediately dove into books about prehistoric sharks, and within a week found the love of his life.

_Carcharodon Megalodon. _The ancient prehistoric cousin of the Great White Shark. Chris had an actual great white shark tooth around his neck. It was his favorite possession, and he never left home without it. It wasn't long before the boy's room was filled with Megalodon posters.

* * *

_Time skip to age eleven..._

Chris looked up from his usual birthday breakfast to find an entire flock of owls outside his kitchen. Daniel merely shooed them off, so they could finish in peace.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Remember that school I mentioned? The one I got rejected from because of a small problem with homework?"

"Yeah? Pigs warts or something?"

"Hogwarts," he corrected absently, "What I never mentioned was that you would most likely be accepted when you turned eleven."

"...Does this have anything to do with that weird cooking pot and those plants you told me never to mess with without you around?" he asked.

Daniel chuckled. Chris had always bothered him about the smelly concoctions he brewed in his cauldron, or as Chris had once called it, the weird cooking pot. Some of the magical plants would have reacted badly to some of the experiments Chris did whenever he cooked.

Chris loved to cook, but he only did it under strict supervision, and never with the cauldron. It was only recently that he was allowed to use the oven without Daniel keeping an eye on him.

"What do you say? Would you like to go to Hogwarts, or would you prefer to have tutors?"

Chris looked at his father askance.

"I'll give it a year or two, but I'm not dropping my regular education just to learn a few tricks," he said dryly.

"This coming from the only eleven year old that lives next to the Loch with a degree in marine biology," said Daniel.

Chris, when he was nine, had been given a strange test by Daniel. He later learned it was the final exam for Daniel's marine biology class.

Everyone but Daniel had been floored when they learned that Chris had gotten a perfect score, plus a few bonus points for his clear understanding of the subject, particularly in concerns to sharks. It was after that joke Daniel had played on his former colleagues (he had only given it to Chris to pull one over on them) that Chris got a degree in the subject. It was framed in his room.

Ever since that day, Chris had been given an invitation to come to the few Institutes that studied sharks near Scotland. Chris usually spent his summer vacations working with the great monsters of the deep.

(That was how he got his shark tooth. He picked it off the bottom of the pool where they were treating a great white that had run afoul of a fishing net.)

Chris finished his breakfast, and Daniel summoned the bus that they both hated taking.

It was called the Knight Bus, and the only reason either of them used it was because it was faster than taking a plane to London.

Chris had only been to Diagon Alley twice, both times to take care of business at Gringotts. Chris nodded cheerfully to the goblin guards. He was one of the few who treated them as equals.

Griphook greeted them with amusement.

"The letters arrived I take it?"

"An entire flock of the buggers. Some of them were for a H. Potter, but I threw those in the fireplace."

Griphook still found it amusing that a squib had unknowingly ruined the old goat's plan for the Potter heir. The fact that Daniel was from an old line only made it funnier.

Once they had the gold coins, Daniel took his son shopping. Chris got his required books, and a few others. They passed the Menagerie, but there weren't any animals Chris would have liked.

Besides, aquatic snakes would freak out the other students.

They did buy a beautiful white owl which caught Chris's eye. He named her Joan, after the French revolutionary.

Finally, they went in to get his wand. Chris jumped when the old man walked in.

"In for your first wand?"

"Yes," said Daniel tersely.

It was here that Daniel found out that he would never attend Hogwarts with his brother. Usually the letters went out on the child's birthday, and since his was right after his younger brother, they had come together.

Daniel at least had his love of aquatic mammals to fall back on, because his parents spared no expense to send him to a very expensive muggle school so he could at least live a life in that world.

That was the only reason he never abandoned the Magical community after all these years.

Chris went through wand after wand. After seeing all the accidents he caused in the store, Daniel was relieved that his son wouldn't suffer like he did.

Finally, Chris found his wand. It was a mahogany wand, thirteen inches, with the ground up tooth of an ancient predator that Ollivander had found while on vacation. He didn't know what it was, but he had the remains of the tooth.

He gave them to Chris for an extra galleon.

* * *

Since Chris would be going to the school for the next nine months, Daniel decided to let him spend the rest of his vacation at the shark Institute.

Chris found his favorite shark there, which happened to be the great white he had gotten his tooth from.

Over the months he had helped around the Institute, Chris had come to an understanding with the testy shark.

It wouldn't bite him while he was in the tank, and Chris would add special treats to the rather boring diet the scientists had it on. Usually those treats were live fish or ducks. Chris never once flinched when the shark rose from the tank to bite into the animals, or when the bloody remains floated by him.

"You know we're going to be releasing him back into the wild by the end of August," commented Annie.

"Too bad, but all good things come to an end. I'll miss the old shark," said Chris honestly.

The shark swam lazily in the giant pool.

"You get to help us release the old boy back into the ocean," said the director.

"Really?"

"He seems to have taken a shine to you, so it's only fair you get to send him off," he shrugged.

They lifted the ten ton shark into the special truck. It was equipped with an ever flowing pool of water, so the shark could swim against it and still be able to breath.

Chris was in the cab right behind it, and he kept an eye on the shark. He would be their first alert in case something was wrong.

He was in front of the shark as they carefully lowered the back end towards the ocean. The shark did a backward slide into the water, struggling a bit before regaining it's sense of direction. It swam in a few circles around them, before swimming off. Only Chris had felt the bump of it's connical nose against him.

It was almost like the shark was saying thank you to the boy.

* * *

Daniel helped his son lift the heavy trunk onto the rack, then gave him a bone crushing hug. It would be the last time he would see him before Christmas.

"Remember, no matter what house you end up in, treat everyone with equal respect. If I find out you've gotten into trouble, I _will_ come after you."

"Dad, half the stuff that lands me into trouble isn't my fault!"

Daniel sighed. Chris had undoubtedly inherited his birth father's sense of trouble, because he landed in hot water more often than not. Fortunately he had his mother's brains to get him out of it.

"Just try to stay out of trouble this year..." he sighed.

"Yeah yeah... You know my luck dad. I attract bullies without trying. Is it my fault they usually end up in the hospital for attacking me?"

Daniel, when he had noticed the rather alarming tendency of the larger kids to go after his son, had sent him to a special class to learn how to defend himself.

It had worked, more or less, but he still got complaints from the boy's mothers whenever Chris sent them to the hospital with a broken arm or leg.

He may have been small, but when he fought he packed more of a punch than the larger boys.

"Just take care of yourself."

"Yes dad," said Chris.

Daniel watched as his son left for the school. He stayed until he couldn't see the train anymore.

Chris was reading a fiction book about megalodons when the door opened to reveal a gangly red head.

"I heard Harry Potter was in this car."

"Wrong compartment. The only person in this car is me, and my name happens to be Chris."

The boy left, annoyed.

The door opened again, revealing a girl with bushy brown hair and a bossy attitude.

"Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one."

"I am afraid not. The little bugger wouldn't have had a chance to get in here, because I closed the door. Perhaps one of the older students would know a charm to summon him?"

She brightened up. Clearly it had never occurred to her to save time by asking the older students.

Ten minutes later she returned, this time with a rather timid boy that Chris liked immediately. Say what you will, but Chris was a defender of the timid and weak.

"I take it you're Neville?" he asked kindly. The boy nodded.

"My name is Hermione Granger."

"Chris O'Neil. Would be Dr. Chris O'Neil but I'm still three years behind earning it."

"Dr.?" she asked surprised.

"I study marine biology, specifically sharks and other aquatic predators. My dad played a prank on his old friends, which is why I earned my degree without having to deal with boring classes."

Hermione made a sympathetic face.

"I would have done the same, had my parents let me work with my rather eccentric uncle for a few summers."

"What's their profession?"

"Dentists, the both of them."

"College professor."

They settled into a companionable silence, and after a while Chris shared some of his books that he brought from home. Neville was absolutely fascinated by the muggle books on aquatic plants and their habitats.

Finding out the rather nervous boy loved plants, the three opened up and discussed their various hobbies.

About halfway to the castle, a blond boy came in looking for Potter.

"The only people in this carriage are us, and not one of them is Potter."

The boy left, and it was Neville who told them who he was.

"Draco Malfoy. He's almost certainly going to be a Slytherin," said Neville quietly.

"What are the house structures like?" asked Hermione.

"Slytherin is mostly egotistical idiots who believe they're better than everyone because of their blood purity. Sometimes people get sent there due to being cunning or sneaky, but it's mostly pure bloods. Gryffindor is full of jocks who mock the other houses and are particularly rash and foolish. They jump in without thinking more often than not. Ravenclaw is full of nerds and people with higher IQ's who question everything. They even have their own private library. Hufflepuff is supposedly full of the dregs, but frankly I think that's mostly hype. A more accurate description of the Hufflepuff house is hardworking, loyal and reliable, which is more than people can say about the other three."

This explanation was not given by Neville, but rather Chris. Daniel had been most informative about the housing structure, since he was originally from a pure blood family who had been neutral during the war.

Seeing their stares, Chris shrugged.

"Dad was a squib, but he still talks to his younger brother. Uncle Steve works in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Sometimes he lets me hang out at his office," explained Chris.

"What's your dad's name?" asked Neville, curious.

"He goes by the name of O'Neil, but he once mentioned that his birth name was Alten."

Neville choked a bit.

"Daniel Alten? Heir to the Alten family?" said Neville in shock.

Chris shook his head.

"Grandma changed it once they found out he was a squib, but Steve doesn't mind if we borrow from the vault every once in a while."

After that, they settled in for a discussion of their various childhood. Chris easily won for the most interesting, especially when he brought out the shark's tooth around his neck. He was particularly interested to hear about a giant squid in the lake.

"Must be salt water then. I've never heard of a squid living in fresh water," said Chris.

"From what I heard, the lake opens into the sea."

Chris nodded. It would explain the presence of the squid.

"Must be a deep lake too, otherwise the squid would have trouble moving."

They quickly got dressed (Hermione using the bathroom since the boys were in the compartment) and waited for the train to stop.

* * *

_**For those of you who recognize where I got the name for the Alten family, Kudos to you for actually reading a book!**_


	36. D's Replacement Chapter One

He was so bored. It had been a week since he escaped Privet Drive, and aside from finding out he wasn't allowed to leave the Alley until school started, it was a better summer than last year.

Still...he had explored every shop in Diagon. Even the shop where they sell trunks. He had looked at one he really liked and bought it. Now he owned an Auror class trunk with multiple rooms, including a fully stocked kitchen. He would never again suffer from not having enough food.

So he put on a cloak and wandered around the alley. Hedwig decided to accompany him today, and was resting on his shoulders.

Suddenly she shifted, and squawked loudly.

Harry looked at the direction she was aiming. There, all by itself between two abandoned buildings, was an unusual pet shop. Hedwig seemed anxious to go there. Seeing no point not to humor her, he went in.

The bell dinged ominously.

"Um...hello?"

"Welcome, child. What sort of pet are you looking for?"

Harry looked at the person who spoke. It appeared to be a man. He was wearing Oriental robes and had long silky black hair.

"I didn't come looking for a pet. Hedwig wanted to come here, so I came in."

"Is that the name of the owl on your shoulder?" asked the man.

"She's like my big sister," said Harry, gently picking his owl off his shoulder.

"I am Count D. This is my shop."

Hedwig did an odd walk on Harry's hand, and sat on D's fist.

"There seem to be spells on her."

"Can you remove them?"

"I can, but it would be dangerous for you. Once unbound, this owl may not remember you. She could attack," advised D.

Harry looked at his beloved owl.

"What do you say girl? Do you want the spells off or not?"

Hedwig bobbed her head in answer. She wanted them off _now._

"Very well. You may looked at the pets around her. But be advised, some of them are very dangerous."

"Anything more dangerous than an eighty foot basilisk or three headed dog?"

D smiled at him, and said "Not this close to the front door."

Harry grinned. As he befriended the animals out in the open, he noted a few doors that were ajar. He carefully looked into them, and saw many odd creatures. None of them appeared very threatening to him.

There in the corner though, was a terrifying beast.

Harry didn't know whether to approach it or not, but instead he stayed still and let the creature catch his scent. The beast slowly got up.

Harry didn't move as it circled him twice. Something inside told him to hold out his hand, palm down. So he did.

The creature sniffed it, and began to purr loudly. Harry gently petted it.

It was then that D returned with a beautiful woman with long silvery-white hair and white gown.

"Oh my. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What is this creature?" asked Harry, who was still petting the creature. In the light of the hallway he had a closer look at it.

It had three heads, a long tail, scales and a thick fur pelt. One head was that of a lion, one was a large dog, and the third was reminiscent of a dragon. The tail had sharp spikes and had all the markings of a poisonous snake. The feet were clawed like a bird of prey. The front half had a luxurious pelt.

"An extremely rare chimera from the East. He normally eats intruders."

"Does he have a name?" asked Harry.

Count D was startled. A normal person wouldn't have perceived such a thing. This boy had caught his interest.

"His name is Meras."

"Nice to meet you Meras," said Harry.

Meras purred louder.

"Do all animals take to you this quickly?" asked D.

"Most, but my aunt can't stand them. I can also speak snake tongue."

Count D already liked the boy.

"How would you like to meet the other animals?"

"How's Hedwig?" asked Harry.

"_I'm fine Harry. Thank you for your concern."_

Harry looked at the woman next to D.

"Hedwig?"

The woman smiled. Before his eyes, she returned to a familiar looking owl. She took off and landed on his shoulder, nuzzling his hair like she would an owlet.

"The wizards who captured her mother placed a spell that forced her to remain in her animal form. There were also several restriction charms, tracers and mail blocks. She is free now."

"I'm glad. I had no idea she was under a spell."

"Surprisingly, she held no resentment towards you at all. Her first question when I removed the spells was to ask where you were. I rarely see such commitment from a pet."

"I thought you sold pets here?"

"Yes, but the problem is that most people are greedy and don't follow the rules to keep their pets. Wizards are especially problematic, because when their pet turns on them for not doing as told, they attempt to kill them and get badly hurt."

"Not surprising. Most of the wizards here are bigots."

D beamed at him. He had found a child after his own heart!

"How would you like to help out around the shop?"

"Really?"

"I don't see why not. If you can tame Meras, then you should be able to handle the others. And it would be good for them to make a new friend."

"But I have to go to school. And I would only have the summers off."

D grinned wider.

"Hedwig has mentioned a new trunk with multiple rooms. I can fix one of them to transport you straight to the shop at any time."

Harry beamed at him. Finally, a chance to be normal!

"I'll bring it right over!"

* * *

For the rest of his summer he went straight to the pet shop. D was delighted to have such an able helper. Harry definitely had an affinity for the trade that Count D specialized in. His natural kindness made him welcome in the shop, and his own ability to listen served him well when it came to pairing an animal up with a new owner.

It seemed that Harry didn't know he could see auras. It was a rare gift.

Harry was coming down from the room when he heard a familiar pair arguing. He grinned.

Fred and George spotted him before he saw them. They nabbed him with a smirk.

"Hullo Gred and Forge. Mind if I prank them?"

The twins snickered and let him go. And watched on as he snuck up behind the two and poked them in the side.

Which caused both of them to yelp before whocking him in the head.

Once he learned they had been looking for him, he decided to humor them.

"I was helping out at a pet shop," was all he would say.

Hermione wanted a pet herself. She was tired of not having a proper familiar. Her parents had given her a little extra so she could buy one.

"So 'Mione, what kind of pet are you looking for?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. Maybe something like Hedwig? Definitely not a rat or a snake though..."

"Maybe the Count can help. He has a lot of pets around his shop, and some never get bought."

"What kind of pets does he sell?" asked Hermione, interested.

"Any kind you can think of, and some you've never even heard of," said Harry promptly.

"You sure know a lot about this place Harry," said Ron suspiciously.

"I've been helping around the shop for the past two weeks. It's a lot of fun."

"Since when do _you_ need to work?" asked Ron.

"I don't need to. It's just that I was really bored waiting for school to start up. Besides, it's not like I'm actually getting paid to help."

"Why wouldn't they pay you?" asked Ron.

"Ron, please tell me you're joking," said Hermione. Even she could guess why they worked out that arrangement.

"Huh?"

"It's called Child Labor Laws. To sum it up, anyone under fifteen is not allowed to legally work for pay. I'm sure even the magical community has something like that set up."

Ron looked completely lost.

Harry looked to Hermione, and she shook her head.

"Admit defeat. Even if we spell it out for him, I doubt he would get the concept without a thorough explanation of history."

"And that would put him to sleep faster than if we stunned him... You're right," said Harry.

Ron looked between the two of them with suspicion.

Since Ron wanted something for his rat, Harry showed him where the pet shop was.

"We'll meet you at the bookstore," said Hermione.

"Hello, welcome to... Who is this charming young lady Harry?"

"This is my friend Hermione. She's wanting to buy a proper familiar."

"Would you like to match her up with one?"

"I figured you would have better luck with it," shrugged Harry.

Count D knew the real reason. Harry was too close to the girl to judge properly. It was a wise decision.

Hermione looked at all the regular pets, such as the cats and dogs, but her heart wasn't in any of them. Then she felt a pull towards the back.

Count D escorted her into the back room, where she heard the sound of feathers.

"Hello Count. Is this a new master?" asked a woman with silvery-white hair and an oriental outfit.

"Greetings Lady Hikari. This is a young lady looking for a companion."

Hermione followed Lady Hikari into the corners of the room. A single black raven looked at her and cawed.

"It seems he is taken with you," said Hikari.

"What is he?"

"A night raven. Very rare, but reliable. Legend has it that those who have a Night Raven will never be lonely again, and will be protected even in the darkness of hell," said Hikari. Count D made a face behind her.

"How much?"

Count D smiled.

"I believe you friend Harry has already helped to buy him," said Count D.

Hermione gave him a knowing look, and he elaborated.

"What I meant was that Harry has been such a help around here that you can have him at a discount," said D.

That relaxed her. She hated charity.

"If you follow me we can sign the contract and you can be on your way," said D.

Hermione left with Harry and Hedwig. Inside the cage was the raven, which she named Hades. It was an interesting choice for a name.

"So does that make you Persephone?" joked Harry.

Ron was bored waiting, and when he saw them he looked annoyed.

"I've been waiting forever!" he whined.

Harry discreetly looked at his watch. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since they left him. Was he really that impatient?

"Honestly Ron, you could stand to learn some patience!" said Hermione exasperated.

* * *

Harry was bored on the train. While he had bought an interesting book on magical animals (he planned to share it with Hagrid later) the ride just couldn't compete with D's shop. There he experienced something new or interesting every day.

Ron just couldn't see the appeal of working without pay. Let alone in a place he thought was full of squalling animals. While Harry pointed out that his owl was extremely well behaved, as was Hades, Ron pointed out that they were well trained.

Harry gave it up as a bad job. It was then he wondered why he was even friends with someone as crude and impatient as Ron.

Hermione had been wondering that too. Ron was too ignorant about things that were obvious to everyone else. He was so petty, always trying to outdo his brothers. And his jealousy towards those with fame or money only made it worse.

_Why am I friends with someone that callous?_ They thought.

Remus Lupin was not as oblivious as they thought. He was actually half awake. And while he listened to them chatter about their summers (Harry winning the most interesting) he noted with horror that the two birds were shooting him some odd looks.


	37. Kidnapped! Chapter One

Harry was walking to the playground yet again, not knowing something was about to happen that would change everything. Idly he would wonder later if going with the somewhat insane woman was such a good idea. But we'll get to that later.

So here he was, on the only swing Dudley had _yet_ to completely destroy, wondering what he was going to be in for this year. From possessed professors, to big damn snakes, to escaped convicts that turn out to be his godfather, to a tournament that he should never have been in that resulted in the death of a friend...yeah, his life sucked.

At least it was never boring.

Music was heard blaring nearby and he turned his head. There, at the opening of the park was a rather fancy Volkswagen beetle, midnight blue, pumping out tunes that would be sure to draw everyone's attention. Inside it was a woman with frizzy brown hair and hazel eyes. She turned down the stereo and rolled down the window and gave him a look.

Seeing no point in not seeing what she wanted, he got up and went to the window.

"Hey, you know where I can find the nearest club? Or better yet the Kaiba Corp. building?"

Harry shook his head.

"This is Surrey, in the middle of nowhere. You're best bet would be to head to London."

"Damn. Which means I definitely took a wrong turn. You know the way to London?"

Harry nodded. At the very least he could get a ride to the Leaky Cauldron and spend some time in Diagon Alley until term started. It was better than dealing with the Dursleys for another two weeks of no news, no friends and dark glaring.

Seeing the look in his eyes she guessed the truth, "You have business in London too?"

"Yeah, but I would have to pick up my things first. And my owl."

"You have an owl? Cool. What's it's name?"

"Her name is Hedwig."

"Germanic for female warrior, right?"

Harry looked at her surprised.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I love to read. Name's Hikari, by the way."

"Harry. Harry Potter."

After she stopped by the Dursley home (_which he spent the next fifteen minutes sneaking in, stealing all his things/owl and getting out unseen_) and he put his trunk in the back, he got back into the car. Hedwig hooted softly, as Harry stroked her feathers.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep...and when he woke up, he realized with a start that he was no longer in Surrey...or even England for that matter.

He stared in disbelief as he looked out the window of the strangest plane he had ever seen, looking at the ocean. Hedwig was still snoozing on his leg, and he turned to the front of the plane. There, flying with apparent ease was the woman he had just met.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Instead of panicking, like any _sane_ person would do, Harry wondering why he was in a plane with his new kidnapper. (Though is it considered kidnapping if he willingly got in the car and didn't wake up in time to stop from getting on the plane?)

"If you're really worried I can always turn it around."

Harry thought about his past four years in school, then figured, what the hell.

"I'm good. It's not like I have a lot to look forward to back home. Besides, this is the first time I've been kidnapped without realizing it."

He could feel her beam at him.

"Goody! This is the first time I've ever kidnapped someone myself. But I saw all those bruises and I thought to myself that you could probably use a change of scenery."

"Should I be worried that you kidnapped me?" asked Harry dryly. So far his day had been better than the last four years worth since he started at that school.

"Not unless you are monumentally worried about sharing a plane with an insane woman who plans to take you with her back to Japan."

"Japan. Never been. Sounds interesting."

"I'll help you get situated. Plus get you a translation charm."

That had Harry's attention.

"Did you just say _charm_?"

"Yup. Salem graduate of 2007, Hikari Sakura at your service."

"You're an American witch?"

"American bitch too. Only in the morning though. So tell me Harry, why were you so willing to get in a car with someone you didn't know?"

Which is how Harry ended up telling her about his crappy life, with her making the appropriate sympathetic noises.

"Damn. I guess it's a good thing I kidnapped you. Just wait till you see Japan. I can help introduce you to the teachers, magic and mundane. Unlike England, Japan and America didn't cut off their madoushi from the mundane classes."

"Madoushi?"

"Japanese lesson number one. Madoushi is Japanese for mage, wizard, magic user. Want some more?"

"Sure."

They spent half the time going over basic Japanese phrases. They had to land halfway, so Sakura could get some sleep. She never flew at night if she could help it. Particularly when the moon was almost full.

Harry wondered if she was a werewolf. He even asked, and she just gave him a cat like smirk saying, "Not a werewolf. I just like to howl at the moon a lot for the hell of it."

Harry grinned at her. She paid for a hotel, and they got separate rooms. When he went to sleep, he wondered how on earth his life had changed so much from this morning. He never would have believed when he woke up this morning that he would be kidnapped by an American witch to be taken to Japan. Or that she would be cheerfully nice. She said she did it because of the bruises, and he actually believed her.

She didn't even react when he said his name. He saw recognition, but other than that, she didn't react.

He woke up the next morning to find...a breakfast on the table next to him. Hedwig hooted happily as she munched on some bacon, which was on a plate separate from the breakfast. Sakura was at the door grinning.

"I figured you wouldn't mind avoiding people until we get there. I just called the old man in charge of the main game shop in town, and he said he wouldn't mind letting you stay for a while. He has a grandson your age."

"What are their names?"

"Solomon and Yugi Muto. But the old man will probably have you call him Grandpa at the least. Yugi is a bit shy, and weird things often happen around him for no reason. And he loves games, particularly Duel Monsters."

"I think I've heard about that. Is it hard?"

"I'll tell you about it on the way there. The sooner you eat, the sooner I can get Hedwig to fly with us. She can find you, right?"

Harry grinned at her.

"Hedwig can find anyone. I'm sure she'll be glad to fly alongside us."

Sakura grinned back. Harry finished his breakfast, and told Hedwig to follow him. Soon they were flying over land, and he couldn't help but stare at the scenery. Then something occurred to him.

"Won't I need a passport?"

"I already took care of that. As far as the Ministry is concerned you're James Potter. They signed off on it this morning without thinking. And you'll be registered by next week in the classes. You can change your name before we get there if you want."

A chance to get rid of the boy who lived stigma? Start fresh without anyone prejudging him?

"How do you say 'night' in Japanese?"

"_Yoru_. Then there's white night, which is '_byakuya_'."

"What about lightning?"

"_Inabikari_."

"Shadow?"

"_Kage_."

"I guess I could go by _Yoru_ then."

"Or _midori_, which is green. Or _emerarudo_, which is emerald. Or _yuri_, which is Lily, thought that's more of a girl's name. Or _raion_, which means lion."

"Yoru Raion."

"Night lion? How about _Yoru_ _Shika_? Night deer?"

"I like the first one better."

"So your new name will be Night lion in english."

"What is snake?"

"_Hebi_."

"Yoru Raion it is then."

"Consider this if anyone makes fun of you about the name. If you had stuck with Harry, most people would probably call you '_spring_'."

Harry gaped at her.

"You're joking."

"Nope. _Haru_ means spring."

"So tell me about Duel Monsters."

She then described all the rules and gave him a helpful tip. If the card went against the rules, then follow the description on the card every time. Soon he had the basic gist of the game, and they were touching down.

And waiting for them was an irate man with blue eyes and brown hair. Sakura said something to him, which he only caught a word in three, and he dropped the angry look.

_'Considering I didn't know a word of Japanese since yesterday, one in three is pretty good,'_ thought Harry.

The man, who upon closer inspection turned out to be around his age, held out his hand.

"Kaiba, Seto."

Harry took it.

"Potter, Harry."

He nodded and they left the private air port. Harry mostly listened to the conversation, which was held in half English, half Japanese. Eventually he overheard the main reason why Kaiba dropped his annoyed look.

According to Sakura, Harry was the inherited owner of the second rival to Kaiba's company, Gryffin Fire Incorporated. He never knew that. They headed to a mansion where a boy with wild black hair was waiting. He couldn't hear what Kaiba said to the kid, but he took one look at Harry and nodded.

The next morning he finally met the kid, who introduced himself as Mokuba Kaiba, younger brother to the grumpy teen he met earlier. Much to his delight, Mokuba was very friendly to him. And was more than willing to introduce him to the Muto family.

Mokuba didn't know what to think of the owner of Gryffin Fire. He was timid, polite and easygoing. But more than that, Mokuba had seen the bruises along Yoru's frame. He knew abuse when he saw it. So when Sakura asked him to help Yoru out, he agreed to it. Besides, the kid was openly friendly to him without expecting anything in return.

Which is probably why Mokuba decided to introduce him to the Muto family. He knew Yoru and Yugi would get along great. Maybe Yoru wouldn't mind hanging out with him later?

When Harry first opened the door to the Kame Game shop, he honestly didn't expect to meet a kid with the most outlandish hair he had ever seen. Add to the fact that this was the grandson Sakura had mentioned, and he barely kept from gaping. He did grin at the look of disbelief that the grandfather and grandson had when Mokuba let slip HOW he ended up in Japan...

_("So, how did you come to Japan Yoru?" asked Solomon Muto._

_"Sakura kidnapped him."_

_Yugi gaped at Mokuba._

_"It's true," said Harry._

_"Since when did Hikari-san kidnapped people?" asked Yugi in disbelief._

_"She asked directions to London, and I fell asleep in the car. Next thing I knew I was on a plane heading to Japan. Compared to what my day would have been had I stayed, I can honestly say I prefer being kidnapped."_

_"What about your parents? Wouldn't they be worried?" asked Solomon._

_"Dead. My aunt and uncle would probably be thrilled that I was kidnapped. They hate me for no reason."_

_Seeing the utter sincerity in his eyes, they didn't question his choice to let himself be kidnapped by the resident nut job.)_

It took less than two days for Harry...who was now called Yoru...to get used the atmosphere in the Muto house. He loved it.

Yugi apparently love having someone who was very interested in games, Solomon loved having a guest who didn't mind helping with the chores and could actually reach the cabinets for a change, and Mokuba was soon a face often seen in the Kame game shop.

Yoru even met up with the executives of his grandparents company. Once they understood the problems he had faced in England and his new found acceptance in Japan, they agreed to call him by his new name. Two days before going to normal high school, Yoru could be found in a hospital getting an exam. Sakura had insisted on it, so here he was.

What he didn't know was that Sakura was building a case against the Dursley family...and by extension Dumbledore himself for placing a minor in an abusive house.

Or that he would be thrown into a world of adventure that never asked him to be the savior.

"This is our new student from overseas, Yoru Raion. Treat him well, and don't make fun of his accent!"

Yoru sat next to the albino, who he later found out recognized him on sight. Ryou Bakura was interesting to talk to, even more so than Anzu. He even invited Yoru to join him at his house, so they could discuss spells.

He grinned, and agreed to it immediately. He would have to finish all the paperwork that the executives gave him early, but he would manage it. He had met the people currently in charge of the company, and they were delighted that he took an interest in the day to day matters. And that he had a clear intelligence that was often hidden.

He was currently talking about a merger of magic and technology involving Kaiba corp. Surprisingly they were all for it, since a combination of magic and tech would boost sales through the roof. Especially since the sales would be split fifty-five, forty-five, with majority going to the Gryffin Fire.

Yoru walked into the apartment, and saw Ryou. He grinned, and soon they were chatting about Hogwarts, spells and the oddity that was the teachers. Much to his surprise, Ryou was a former Hufflepuff. He had to leave because of his father, but he still kept up with Wizarding Britain. Eventually they got around to guessing which house some of the other kids in their class would be in if they went.

"Yugi has to be a Puff," said Ryou.

"Nah, he's more of a lion. It's in his eyes. Besides, with that hair, he'd be sporting the house colors from day one!" laughed Yoru.

"Jou's a lion, easy. Brash and reckless as they come."

"Kaiba is either a raven or a snake. Can't tell which."

"Anzu...definitely Puff. Honda is a lion like Jou," said Ryou.

"Can't argue with that one. Ron would probably get along with Jou and Honda pretty good...once they got over the language barrier."

Ryou suddenly began rubbing his chest, which jarred an odd ring around his neck.

"Cool pendant."

"My father sent this to me a couple of years ago. Ever since then whenever I play a game my friends end up in comas. I have no idea why."

"Maybe it's possessed. That happened to Ginny Weasly once, though it was with a diary...which turned out to be a piece of Voldemort's soul. He let loose a basilisk and I had to kill the damn thing using a sword."

"Why?"

"It was in the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, everyone believed I was the heir of Slytherin at the time, and the only Defense teacher was an pompous ass who tried to use me to boost his own ego."

"What was his name?"

"The idiot's name is Lockhart, and he now has a permanent home in St. Mungo's hospital because he used Ron's broken wand to cast a memory charm...which backfired horribly. It hit him instead, which is why he is a gibbering mess."

Ryou laughed. He had read some of the man's books, and Yoru was right, he was an idiot.

Still, his chest was really hurting...and then he suddenly blacked out.

Yoru stared at Ryou...no, this wasn't Ryou. It was someone else. Someone darker.

Apparently this new person spotted him, because he said in an accented voice _"Are you going to be a problem, or am I going to have to deal with you?"_

Yoru looked at him blankly, "Are you after me personally, or just the world in general?"

_"World in general. I have a score to settle with certain people."_

"As long as you don't come trying to kill me, I don't give a damn. But go easier on Ryou, will ya? It can't be that easy on someone who keeps dealing with memory loss."

The man grinned.

_"I like you kid. I go by Bakura, or Tomb Robber."_

"Yoru Raion, formerly Harry Potter. I suppose I should stick to help Ryou out with the aftermath of your revenge?"

"Go for it. I'll be back in an hour."

Yoru called the shop, told them he was spending the night with Ryou, and got confirmation before making some dinner.

Just like Bakura had said, he came back in an hour, and Ryou was confused as hell. He took pity on the albino, and handed him a plate full of hot food. Ryou stared blankly before sitting down and enjoying the meal. He looked very surprised at the quality, then ate with a bit more enthusiasm.

"You know, no one ever mentioned that the great Harry Potter was an excellent cook."

Yoru smirked, "That's because no one ever mentioned that his blood relatives made him cook since he was old enough to reach the stove. And call me Yoru from now on. That way when they finally figure out where I disappeared to, they'll have a harder time finding me."

Ryou laughed.

"By the way, you're possessed. Judging by the accent of that spirit who took control, I'd say Egyptian, or maybe Arabic. He's pretty old too, from the look of his eyes."

Ryou choked on his drink. Hell of a way to tell someone they're possessed!

"He also goes by the name Bakura, and said he was a Tomb Robber. I think he's the reason why your friends ended up in comas."

Ryou gulped.

"And apparently he likes me for some odd reason. Which probably means he won't try to kill me right away."

"You staying over tonight, Yoru?"

"I already called Grandpa, and he said it was okay if I did my homework...which is usually done before class anyway."

When they got to school they found out the gym teacher had fallen into a coma for no reason. Yoru shared a look with Ryou, then went to class.

He actually grinned at Yugi, and soon the two spent lunch playing a card game. Unfortunately for Yugi, his face was a tad too open for him to play this particular game. Ryou had joined them, and soon the one to beat was Yoru.

The name of the game...was Poker.

_(Needless to say the next time Bakura came out he immediately conned Yoru into teaching him how to play. And when he mentioned the words 'strip' and 'poker' in the same sentence...well let's just say that the Pharaoh was screwed.)_

Yugi dragged him to the apartment...which had Yoru looking in disbelief. Poor Ryou. Bakura was in full control now, and there was nothing he could do.

Still, at least he knew Bakura wouldn't attack him specifically, which was actually quite comforting. It also confused the ancient spirit to no end. Which always made him chuckle.

Everyone chose their figurines, and Yoru had to chuckle at the sight of them. Most of them resembled the others...but Yoru's was just plain weird. Since a new expansion of Monster World had come out with new classes and character species, Yoru had taken the path less traveled.

His character had wings, long midnight black wings and an odd hat that looked like a crown. His character was called Midnight. He was a level fifteen Fallen Angel with magician powers and his class was Sorcerer.

Unknown to Ryou, Yoru _had_ played this game before back at Hogwarts. His character resembled him greatly, except the hair was longer...and formed into the wings. The emerald eyes were actual emeralds, and the figure didn't wear glasses.

Bakura, crazed tomb robber that he was, reluctantly admitted that the figure suited the strange boy. He was both dark and noble, timid and brave. He had all the characteristics of a good king, something the Pharaoh never had when he was alive. He was too conceited, especially when he had his priests.

Harry, on the other hand was still looking for acceptance, something he never would have gotten in England, no matter how he tried. Once the prophecy was made, he lost that chance. Dumbledore insured that much.

Bakura wondered why he liked the boy so much. Soon the game began, and Yoru grinned as Jou started it off with a bang.

Though he did wonder about the odd NPC that looked like the gym teacher. He gave Bakura a look, and he winked at him.

So Bakura could seal people's souls into objects? Voldemort would probably love him then. Soon they were battling monsters, though he let the newbies go at it. Suddenly they came across an injured NPC, and Yoru stiffened.

"We leave the NPC alone," said Yoru clearly. Jou went ahead and poked him, and they went ahead. However Yoru's character went the long route to the castle alone. Unknown to most players, characters can take different routes. Most people went together, since there was safety in numbers.

Yoru ended up be the wiser man, as the noobs were tricked, and attacked by Zorc. Fortunately Yugi turned it to their advantage by getting them two monsters.

Yoru arrived at the castle before the others, and went in. He stood in the middle of a throne room, and waited for the others. Since he had taken the long route, he went up a level. His staff glittered in the candle light. Bakura was impressed at how Yoru commanded his character with ease.

Soon Yugi's group arrived...though their souls had been stuck inside their characters. Only Yoru remained...and the spirit of Yugi's puzzle.

Until Zorc appeared in front of them. Yoru threw his dice...and somehow got a fumble. Bakura put his soul inside his character...and something odd happened. Yoru's eyes glazed over...and something else took control. The voice was cold and cruel.

Out of nowhere he produced a knife, and charged Bakura.

Bakura didn't think twice. He threw up his arm and said** "Penalty Game!"**

Yoru's body collapsed, and the scar on his forehead began to bleed. A dark scream was heard from it, as it healed over completely.

_**'What just happened? And why is everyone bigger than usual?!'**_ yelped Yoru.

Yugi's other self said "Yoru...were you aware you had a dark soul inside your scar?"

_**'Dark spirit? What the hell! Why would there be a...Oh.'**_

Bakura looked at him oddly.

"You have an idea who that was?" asked Bakura.

_**'Um...if it's who I think it was...then I'm in serious trouble.'**_

"You have some explaining to do when this is over Yoru," said Dark Yugi firmly.

Eventually with the help of Ryou and Yoru, Zorc was beaten. Once Ryou came back, everyone looked at Yoru. He swallowed nervously.

"You mind explaining who that soul was that attacked Ryou?"

"Um...I think it might have been the same nut job that's been trying to kill me since I was one."

"Who, Yoru?" said Dark Yugi firmly.

"Voldemort. Apparently there was some prophecy made after I was born, and the guy took it seriously enough to come after me. Ever since then people have been after me."

"Who or what is Voldemort?" asked Anzu.

Ryou decided to help out Yoru.

"Voldemort is an English magic user who has been terrorizing the British community for almost thirty years. He disappeared for about thirteen, but recently he came back by using a foul ritual. That odd shaped scar is rather famous in certain circles around England and neighboring countries."

"Magic user?"

"We're called Wizards, and there is an entire community. We've been in hiding since the witch hunts over a thousand years ago."


	38. Red Moon Chronicles Chapter One

Golden eyes stared out of the cage with indifference. They had found an odd archway that had grabbed him without warning, and if the last thing he heard was correct, had also grabbed the Pack and Chesa.

Many had come to claim him as a 'pet' of sorts, or had tried to separate the pack, but all those efforts were in vain as Kiba had nearly ripped their greedy hands off.

He wasn't about to let these...humans...separate the pack.

Another human came to the cage, and looked in. He had the deepest emerald green Kiba had ever seen.

"Kid, if you want a wolf you'll have to pay fifty galleons. Though I have to warn ya, that white one is more trouble than he's worth," spat the shopkeeper.

The kid, however, wasn't interested in just one wolf.

"How much for the whole set?"

"You must be out of your mind! There's no way a brat like you could handle five wolves, let alone kept them fed!"

"I have more than enough money to keep them fed. Now how much?"

"A thousand!" said the owner greedily.

"Five hundred for the pack," he replied coolly.

"Deal!"

Five hundred and he got rid of that damn white wolf that kept trying to maul him. He would have gone as low as two just to be rid of the lot. The boy handed over a large bag of coins, and the owner asked where he wanted him to drop the wolves off.

Letting a pack of grown wolves loose, one of which had no issues with attacking humans, in the middle of a crowded street was something even the greedy owner wasn't stupid enough to do.

The boy told him the room number at the nearby pub, and the man promised to have the cage full of wolves delivered discreetly to it before the night was out.

Kiba had no idea who the boy was, only that he had bought them as a pack. So long as he didn't try to separate them, he might let the kid keep his hands.

* * *

Kiba awoke to find...the boy who had bought them arguing with an owl?

"Come on Hedwig, you know I could never replace you! They just looked so miserable in that cage that I had to do something!"

The owl barked at him, and the boy spoke again. Clearly he had some sort of ability if he understood that bird...or he had far too much free time on his hands. It was better than learning the kid was crazy.

"No, I'm not stupid enough to let them loose in the castle. I was going to bring them with me to the school and let them go free in the forest. I'm sure they would be happier living in there anyway, and the white one could probably keep the Acromantula population down."

The owl gave him a shrewd look, apparently appeased by this answer.

The boy looked at his owl and said "Now can I let them out? They couldn't possibly cause much trouble in this room so long as I keep the door locked."

The owl barked in confirmation before putting her head under her wing, clearly stating 'On your own head be it!'

The kid went to the door and locked it firmly, before he headed to the cage.

"It can't be good to have all of you cramped inside that cage, expansion charms or not. I'll let you all out inside the room so long as none of you try to maul me like the man said you did to the others. Fair?"

Toboe barked in agreement. They were all eager to get out of this uncomfortable cage.

He undid the lock, keeping clear of the opening in case Kiba tried to take a bite out of him, and all five wolves walked out.

The kid had a silly grin on his face when Toboe whined and put his head under the boy's hand for a much needed ear scratch, which he did. The five of them took their time to stretch for the first time in a month, having been stuck in that cage since their capture.

The jerk hadn't even been nice enough to add an expansion charm to make it bigger.

In less than five minutes, the five wolves, Kiba, Toboe, Tsume, Hige and Blue had all situated themselves calmly around the room. Tsume had claimed the bed, having jumped onto it to take a long nap, Hige, Blue and Toboe were getting scratches from the boy who had rescued them from that annoying shop keeper who had locked them in a constricting cage, and Kiba? Well, he was sitting next to the owl watching the boy who had no problems with being in a room full of wolves who could easily kill and eat him.

Not that they would, mind you. Doing so would definitely end with either their deaths or being in that damn cage again only to be sold away to the highest bidder. Besides the kid wasn't freaking out and didn't mind giving them some attention. So Kiba spent the next hour watching this boy interact with his pack while trying to figure out what to do next.

Tsume was more interested in being able to sleep and stretch out (something he had been unable to do to his increased irritation) for the first time in a month.

Eventually they drifted off into a proper sleep, some on the bed, some on the floor.

The kid didn't mind sharing the bed, so there was room enough for two wolves considering his tiny frame.

Oddly enough, the ones who shared the bed were Tsume (he refused to let anyone steal his new spot) and Toboe (who had attached himself rather firmly to the one who let them out of the cage).

* * *

The next morning lead to a rather amusing incident. Namely the fact that Toboe had, during some point in the night, turned into his human disguise.

Apparently the boy had seen the bangles that Toboe always wore and put two and two together. He didn't raise a fuss, but rather went to the bathroom and went back to sleep.

Which was why Kiba allowed Toboe to become human for a while to learn more about the one who freed them from the cage.

What little Toboe learned from the boy had most of the pack ready to rip his family into chunks of meat. The boy had been nothing but kind to them, and hadn't overreacted to the fact Toboe could disguise himself as a human like most would.

And after a day of being in the kid's company, Kiba could honestly say that the boy was for lack of a better word...comforting to be around. His magic wasn't hostile, or wary, but open and accepting.

Which was why he decided to do a wait-and-see approach with the boy. If he believed the kid to be worth their time, he would change into his human disguise and talk to the boy directly. If not, well they would part ways once they reached this school, as the boy had already promised to let them leave in the forest, where they could be free to do whatever they wanted.

* * *

A week into being with the boy, Kiba surprised them all by taking his human disguise to talk to Harry directly.

With that, all five of them switched to their human disguise.

"Are you all animagi?" he asked.

"No. We aren't wizards. We are wolves who developed the ability to hide as humans out of necessity," said Kiba.

"How'd you end up in the cage then?" asked Harry.

"We fell through some sort of archway, and by the time we were able to make sense of where we were, that man captured us and threw us all in the same cage. We were stuck in that thing for a month," said Kiba sourly.

"Thanks for getting us out of that by the way!" said Toboe. Harry grinned at the youngest wolf-turned-human.

"The question I have is why did you chose now to talk to him?" asked Tsume, looking at Kiba.

"I figured we could trust him to a point," said Kiba bluntly.

After seeing how the boy interacted with them, Kiba had the odd feeling Harry's animal form was that of a wolf...one that was desperately in need of a real pack to run with.

If that was the case, Kiba had no issues with the boy joining them. At the very least it would give Toboe someone to play with. He was the youngest of their pack, next to Blue who was the only half-wolf among them, as well as being the only female.

And with that, Harry learned about their quest to find a place called Paradise. Chesa, who had come through the archway with them, had disappeared for some reason and they had little chances of finding her at this point.

When Harry left the room, Toboe and Blue had joined him, staying at a safe distance.

He came back a few hours later with a new trunk. Seeing Kiba's raised eyebrow, he quickly explained.

"This trunk has several rooms added to it, and I figured that if you wanted to join me to the school it would be easier hiding in here rather that deal with the hustle and bustle of the platform. Plus this way you could stretch without scaring the humans. It has a feature that connects all the rooms, so you can all have your own space," said Harry.

Plus it meant he wouldn't have to worry about anyone stealing from his trunk like last year.

Once they got used to the trunk itself, it took little time before they each claimed a room for them to sleep in. Harry's trust fund was hit harder that day than the previous two years he was aware of it. Eventually the goblins just gave him the magical equivalent of a muggle debit card, and they quit having to hit the bank.

It had the added benefit of allowing Harry to leave his original key in the trust vault and having it set to his signature. The goblins approved of the security measure.

By the time Hogwarts rolled around, the trunk had become more of a home than a trunk.

In Toboe's "room" there was a nice carpet and couch for him to crash, as well as several toys. Blue had a peaceful cottage theme to hers, Hige had the fridge and a small bed. Tsume had the most comfortable bed of the lot, as well as a weapon's room. Kiba had a veritable greenhouse (there had been quite a bit of tricky spellwork involved in that, and the cashier had let Harry have it for free once the owner realized how they could expand on the rather profitable idea) that was set to play sounds for nature.

Harry had a bed, dresser, bookshelf and potions lab. This was because none of the wolves were going to put up with the smell of a brewing potion if they could help it.

Once the trunk was ready, they immediately crashed in there and Harry threw the cage into an unused portion of 'his' room.

* * *

Harry was half-asleep in the compartment, as Hige kept kicking him for some reason (they had opted to take shifts on who got the bed) so he was sleepy.

Which was why he didn't know anything was wrong until he fell face-first into the carpeting.

"Hwa? What's going on?" yawned Harry.

"I don't know. The train suddenly stopped," said Hermione.

Harry felt a sudden chill. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Guys, I don't think we should stay in the open like this. Something bad is about to happen," said Harry.

His instincts screamed at him to hide, to get out of the open.

"Well where are we _supposed_ to hide?" snapped Ron. He was irritated because of the cold feeling. Harry dragged his trunk down carefully...he didn't want to annoy Kiba because of a thump.

"Harry, there isn't enough room in your trunk for us to hide," said Hermione. Now she was becoming testy.

"It's a special trunk. I didn't want a repeat of last year so I bought a new one with special features. It has multiple rooms and we can open it once we feel the train moving again."

"I've heard of trunks like that," said Ron.

"So let's wait in here until whatever is coming leaves. Oh, and do me a favor and try not to scream. I already have a headache and I don't want someone screaming in my ear," said Harry absentmindedly.

"Why would we scream?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

"No reason."

Harry was the first to jump in the trunk, followed by Hermione and Ron. Harry counted to ten before he covered their mouths.

Kiba was waiting for them and he looked rather anxious thanks to whatever was outside the train. The only problem being that Kiba was currently in wolf form to better maul whatever was outside.

"I told you before, I have a headache. Hey Kiba. We're hiding in here until the train starts to move again," said Harry yawning.

Kiba calmed down somewhat, before he nodded towards Toboe's area.

"Harry...why is there a _wolf_ in your trunk?" asked Hermione. She had that tone of voice, the one she only used when someone was doing something monumentally idiotic.

"I don't have a wolf in my trunk," said Harry.

"Then what..." started Ron.

"I have an entire pack of wolves in my trunk. Some idiot had them in a cage too small for them and I planned to let them free in the Forbidden Forest where they would at least be able to run around without having to deal with any more humans," continued Harry.

"Harry..." growled Hermione.

"Hermione, I've let them out of their cage, and thanks to Hedwig they haven't bothered me once. Like I said, I'll let them out once we get to the station so they can head to the forest."

"How many are in here," asked Hermione pinching the bridge of her nose. It was going to be one of those years.

"Five. Kiba, the white one you've already met, Toboe, who's tawny, Hige, the brown one with the collar, Blue, the only female, and Tsume, the one with the scar on his chest."

"You gave them _names?" _said Hermione with a whine.

"Nope. They came with names."

"Harry..."

"Hermione relax. So long as you leave them alone they'll leave you alone...well except Toboe. He's a bit of a lapdog and Blue is only half wolf," said Harry.

He went into Toboe's area and immediately crashed on the couch. Toboe and Blue curled up next to it.

When the trunk started rumbling, Hermione and Ron left it, assuming the train had restarted. They weren't going near those wolves.

* * *

McGonagall blinked, as she realized that Harry wasn't with Hermione or Ron.

"Where is Mr. Potter?" she asked.

"Knowing him, still in his trunk," said Hermione sourly. She had tried to go back in to wake him up for the feast, but she had run into Tsume and thought the better of it.

It took a moment for McGonagall to figure out what she meant.

"He has one of those multiple room trunks, doesn't he?" she said.

They nodded.

"I'll go get him," said McGonagall. Chances were the elves had already taken the trunk up to the room.

This wasn't the first time a student had fallen asleep in a multi-room trunk, and since the standard protocol was to take the trunks to the room once all the students were off the train, that meant she simply had to hit the trunk itself with a spell all heads of house knew.

Sure enough, there was the trunk. She hit it with the alarm spell, and two minutes later Harry popped out.

"We at the school already?" he yawned.

"Yes. And for future reference Mr. Potter, I would recommend leaving an alarm clock in your rooms so I don't have to come back to wake you up. That spell can go _much_ higher in tone," said McGonagall.

"Give me a minute..." said Harry. He quickly straightened up and put on his robes, and headed back down with McGonagall. He was still yawning though.

Harry stole several meat items off the table to give to the wolves later, and once he got to his dorm (barely paying any attention to the announcements) he doled them out to the pack. After that he went straight to sleep on his bed and didn't wake up until sunrise.


	39. Sora and Zorua Chapter One

"_Ranger Applicant number 13, your turn is up,"_ said the proctor over the intercom.

"Whoohoo! Finally!" said a black haired boy with green eyes.

He was the youngest applicant to the Pokémon Ranger Academy. At age ten, most kids would be out getting their first partners and traveling the world for their gym badges.

"Applicant Sora Hoshino. Capture this Pikachu with only the practice styler," said the proctor.

"Yes sir!" said Sora with a big grin.

He took the styler and looped it around Pikachu rapidly, not allowing it to break the line.

"Pika~!"

"Capture successful," said the proctor.

His partner looked at the test scores for the written exam.

"You have the highest score of the applicants this year, and you performed perfectly. The only concern I have is about your age, but we'll keep it under advisement for now. Sora Hoshino, Pass," said the other proctor.

"Yippee!"

* * *

Sora sat in the Academy, the youngest person there. Everyone else was in their teens already.

"Hi, I'm Amy from Petalburg."

"Sora, from Viridian Forest."

"Really?"

"It's where Professor Oak found me anyway. I've always wanted to be a Ranger since I saw the bond the first one I ever met had with his partner."

"So who do you want for your partner Pokémon?" asked Amy.

"Something that can fly, possibly. I love the sky and the feeling of wind when you fly on a Pokémon," said Sora.

"I bet!" laughed Amy.

"Hi, I'm Rory and this is Micky," said the boy next to him.

"Sora!"

"Ahem! If you could all pay attention to the board," said the teacher loudly.

"Sorry!" chimed the group.

"So Sora, as the youngest of the new recruits, it is my duty to inform you of a long standing tradition here at Ranger Academy!" said Rory.

"What's that?"

"The test of courage of course!"

Rory gleefully explained about the spooky basement of the Academy, and how every year, the recruits had to go down there one by one to the room below. And as the youngest, Sora had been selected to go first...but he couldn't tell the others what was really down there.

Sora had never been afraid of the dark, in fact he preferred it, having taken up star gazing when he had the chance along with some of the wild Pokémon in the forest Oak had found him in.

(Oak had even taught him how to read and then gifted the boy with books on the stars and their myths, one of his prized possessions.)

* * *

Sora waited until nightfall, when the teachers were outside patrolling. Very few were willing to risk their potential careers for being caught out of bounds too many times.

Creeping down the stairs, Sora hit the flashlight and found himself face to face with a low-level Ghastly. Ghosts had never bothered him before, in fact he often found their pranks funny. A few quick loops of the styler and it left him alone for the most part. Seeing a light at the far end of the basement, Sora snuck up to the spot and left the rock where he had been instructed and started making his way back up to the dorms.

He was so intent on being quiet he didn't notice a second Ghastly moving a cord from an old fan to where his feet would trip over it. The resulting crash drew the attention of whoever was inside the room, and he quit disguising his presence. He released the first ghost Pokémon as soon as he reached the stairs, as he didn't want to give away who had been down there.

He didn't see the teacher look out, see the rock and shake his head.

"Remind me to tell Rory that next time they have their little 'test of courage' to warn the participants to watch out for the second Ghastly," said Professor Mark.

"Yes Professor," replied his assistant.

It was well known among the staff that the first and second years had their yearly test of courage in the dark basement...that was why the teachers 'patrolled' their classrooms or outside so the recruits could have their fun.

Better to get it out of their system early than to deal with it later when they were performing sensitive experiments.

* * *

"Well Sora, you passed but the teacher wanted me to remind you that you should have been looking out for that second Ghastly," said Rory all too cheerfully at breakfast.

"Wait, he knew?"

"Yup. The professor doesn't do any sensitive experiments until the 'test of courage' is considered over with, and the teachers don't bother to patrol that area until the second month."

"Huh."

"Still, he did commend you on being quiet. If you hadn't tripped on the fan he wouldn't have known someone had come down there with the rock."

"Ghastly picked up the cord," explained Sora.

"Still, you were better than most. Professor Mark said that half the time the recruits make enough racket for a rampaging Tauros herd."

Sora snorted in amusement at the idea, and went back to his homework for the week.

It was the bane of all Rangers, whether they had passed the final test or not, that they had to fill out reports.

Trainers never had to do such things unless it was to fill out damage claims, and even then half the time they were made to fix whatever they had broken.

* * *

"Did you hear? One of the senior Rangers at the Union is going to take the three of the top students on a field trip!" said Amy.

Sora snorted.

"I heard that he takes only certain people with him, depending on the teacher's reports," said Sora.

"So? Either way it means that the lucky few could possibly find their partner early!"

"Yes, but school rules state that Pokémon aren't allowed on school grounds unless they are the ones already here. It would have to stay outside the fence the entire time, and we aren't allowed out except with a teacher," Sora reminded the bubbly fourteen-year-old. She deflated, then cheered up.

"I'm sure the teachers could make an exception," she said.

"Actually, there is _one_ exception, and that's for baby or really young Pokémon who have attached to you as a surrogate parent. But they aren't allowed in dorms," said Rory. As a third year, he knew the most.

"But I bet there's a room where you can visit and feed it without making the other students jealous," said Sora knowingly.

"Yup. It's considered a punishment to keep it clean," said Rory.

One that was almost never used, as most of the less pleasant people who tried to become Rangers tended to get weeded out within a month or two of training. The Ranger union was one of the few that didn't have abrasive personalities in it, as they rarely let someone who treated Pokémon as things or tools to carry a capture styler. Sure, there were a few that didn't get along with people or had less than friendly personalities, but they did their jobs and treated Pokémon as friends, which was all the Rangers asked for.

"Anyway, all first years get to do a pop quiz later...the reward is a surprise," said Rory mysteriously.

Sora had an idea of what he meant. Fortunately the 'pop quiz' wasn't until noon, and that was two hours away. He grabbed his bag and went outside before class started in an hour.

As he picked a leaf off a tree, he started to play a simple tune. He found that grass whistles tended to bring wild Pokémon to you, and that the sound of the leaf was soothing enough that sometimes he didn't even need a capture styler to sooth an angry Pokémon down.

It was a way to calm his nerves and make new friends.

* * *

"Eh? You hear something?" asked one of the visiting Rangers.

"That's just Sora. Youngest ranger in the school, yet he has this way that calms down Pokémon without a styler," said Professor Mark.

"Really?"

"Kid has a way with the leaf whistle. Calms them right down."

"How old is he?"

"Ten."

The visiting Ranger stared.

"Ten? Don't kids his age usually start their journeys for gym badges?"

"He had a letter of recommendation from Oak. According to Sora, he wanted to keep his options open and didn't want any of the usual starter Pokémon, so he decided to try for Ranger school first."

"How good is he?"

"In the top of his class. You know that old test of courage down in the basement? He went down first, and I didn't even know he was there until the second Ghastly tripped him with an old fan cord."

"Not bad for a ten-year-old."

"Yeah, and the Zigzagoon love him. Kid gets along with all sorts of Pokémon."

"Hmm...might be interesting to see how he does in my 'pop quiz' later."

* * *

"Alright kiddies! This here is Ranger Daniel, and he has a special treat for you! A pop quiz!" said Professor Mark. All the students groaned good naturedly.

Professor Mark handed out a single sheet of paper, and they had a ten minute time limit to finish. Sora, who glanced at the paper, was done in five. Amy was done in seven.

"I'll have the results up tomorrow, and the top five get to go on a mission with Ranger Daniel to the Grasslands," said Mark.

Hearing the first years cheer at the idea, Daniel grinned.

Just by glancing at Sora's paper, he already knew the boy would likely get one of the coveted spots. Besides, he had to make an assessment of the kid's personality for a report to the Union. It was rare for someone as young as ten to make it this far.

* * *

"Alright kiddies. Now today's mission is to find the mystery Pokémon that's been pranking trainers into walking into solid rock. They haven't been harmed, but some of the more cocky trainers have begun to organize a party to deal with the nuisance. Our job is to figure out what's doing it, and if possible find out why. Now, because none of you have a partner just yet, you're only allowed to capture two wild Pokémon. If it breaks, you have to wait back at the vehicle."

There was a reason why the Union sponsored these rare trips outside the Academy. Occasionally they picked up a prodigy ranger who would rise through the ranks in a relatively short time, and these trips tended to weed them out for an early graduation.

It also gave the new students their first glimpse at what being a real ranger was like outside the classroom.

They paired up, investigating the area. Sora, because he was the youngest one there, was stuck with Ranger Daniel as a precaution.

He didn't mind, as Daniel answered any questions he had about partner Pokémon and more. He seemed to find Sora's interest in the subject quite amusing.

About an hour later they returned to the vehicle, some with a Pokémon or two with them that they released as soon as Daniel returned with Sora.

"Any luck?"

A chorus of 'no' came back to him and he sighed. Then he spotted something worrying.

"Hold on a minute kids."

Ranger Daniel went to speak with a rather large group of angry trainers who were there to deal with the nuisance. They heard some shouting, and eventually he came back looking rather upset.

"It seems someone had the bright idea to capture or take out the Pokémon responsible. I don't understand why, as the incidents were all rather minor pranks..."

Sora, having looked at the incident reports, spoke up.

"One of the trainers in question was from a rich family. He probably took a good deal of offense to the prank and wanted some revenge."

Everyone looked at him.

"What? I read the incident report on the boat ride over. Looking at the sea for two hours isn't that fun," he said defensively.

"You may be right. In any event we need to solve this quickly before it escalates. What areas have you all checked?"

Once they had a good portion of areas cleared, Daniel had them lead the trainers into those areas to give them some breathing room.

As long as they were away from whatever was doing this, the Pokémon might be able to escape safely.

* * *

Sora went past a bramble patch when he spotted it. A tiny Pokémon with light black and bright red coloring.

_'If I remember right, that Pokémon is a Zorua...'_

He watched as it played in the grass and tried not to gasp in shock when a Zoroark appeared and picked it up. Suddenly the incidents made more sense.

Zoroark were notorious for being able to use illusions, so making humans walk into a rock wall would be easy for them. Judging by the looks it was sending his direction, this one had bad experiences with humans and simply wanted to keep them away from the baby.

Those trainers must have come too close to the nest.

Mystery solved, Sora went to tell Daniel what really happened when the Zorua bounced out of the older Pokémon's mane and bounded up to him, having caught his scent by an ill timed wind.

Zoroark saw him, and Sora made sure to keep his movements slow and out in the open to avoid a confrontation. He gently patted the tiny fox, who barked once before returning to it's mother. He slowly backed away, and it ran off with Zorua.

"So it was a Zoroark? That explains a lot."

"Yeah, I'm guessing those trainers came too close to the nest, and Zoroark decided to warn them off by making them walk into the cliff. It looked like it had bad experiences with trainers before, which was why I was careful to keep all my movements in the open and very slow. I'm guessing it's dealt with Rangers before, and knows they aren't a threat," said Sora.

"Good work Sora. In the meantime, I have to write up a few citations for those trainers who were tearing up the forest. Go wait on the boat with the others while I have a talk with them."

Daniel came back ten minutes later looking rather cross.

"That rich one didn't get the point. We may have to relocate the Pokémon to protect them."

All five trainees winced. Relocation was considered a last resort, as it took time for Pokémon to become comfortable in new locations. The only other option in those cases was to report the location and let trainers come to put them in their team until the area could be healed by either nature or an expensive landscaping team to come in and fix the problem.

And generally it was the Ranger union that did the paying for the team to fix it.


	40. Sora and Zorua Chapter Two

A year had passed in the Academy, and Sora was one the first list of people to graduate. Apparently Daniel's report on how he handled the mischievous Pokémon (it was only listed on the official reports that only level five or above Rangers could get to protect the two) and how it was Sora who discovered the truth had given him the right push for early graduation.

Because of his age, he would still have a human partner with him at all times, even when he got his Pokémon partner.

"Eager to get a partner Pokémon Sora?"

"Somewhat. I'm kinda hoping to get one that flies," he admitted.

It was a common joke among the Rangers and the trainees that Sora always had his head in the clouds, which was why his name meant 'sky'.

Another joke was that he was always shooting for the stars, which was why his last name was registered as Hoshino.

(Hoshino Sora= Hoshi (Star) no (of) Sora (Sky). In other words Starry Sky, or the best translation I can make at the moment. Get it?)

"That reminds me...anyone know what happened to those two Pokémon?" asked Sora.

Rory winced. Sora honed in on him with concern.

"That rich punk who got tricked tried to burn down the forest. Apparently the Zoroark you encountered used to be one of his Pokémon, but it escaped and destroyed it's Pokéball. Daniel was barely able to get the baby out in time."

"Where's Zorua now?"

"In the kennel where we keep the partner Pokémon too young to survive outside the school. Apparently it's refusing to eat," said Rory.

* * *

Sora immediately went to the kennel and found the baby Zorua. The second it saw him, it barked.

Sora gently rubbed it's fur.

"Easy there little one."

"I don't believe it. That little fox has been refusing to come near humans for nearly a week! Why's it so attached to you?"

"Because it knew me from before. I was the one who found out it was Zoroark causing all those incidents, and she let me pet her baby before the attack. It associates me with good things, since it's mother wasn't afraid of me like the other humans," explained Sora.

"I'm going to talk to the professors about this," said Rory.

A few hours later Sora was given the Zorua infant as his partner, since he was the only one it would go near and would allow to feed it.

They had a psychic-type confirm Sora's thoughts on why it trusted him.

Since Zoroark hadn't chased him off, the baby thought this human was safe to be around. It didn't hurt that Sora was so young himself. According to some of the older Rangers, the Zorua's mother had realized Sora was barely grown himself, that coupled with his actions had her label him not a threat to her or her child.

* * *

Sora stepped on the podium, the baby Zorua on his shoulder like a bird Pokémon would. He would be turning eleven soon, and already he had a headache waiting for him once he left the Academy.

Apparently the rich brat who killed Zoroark had learned the infant it was protecting was still alive, and had demanded that the Union hand it over.

Having it registered as Sora's Pokémon partner had stopped most of it, but the kid wasn't relenting one bit. Due to the fact he was a new Ranger, it was unlikely Sora would be able to keep Zorua away from the creep.

Receiving his certificate (making him a full Ranger, along with a proper styler) he walked down proudly and sat next to Rory, who was also graduating.

"So which station they put you in?"

"Yet to be decided, thanks to this mess with that rich brat. The Union is still trying to get him banned from the League, but it's slow going because he has lawyers," said Sora sourly.

"Too bad. I doubt the League will be able to get Zorua away from you...he is your partner after all!"

"Yeah. I just wish that Zorua hadn't lost his mom because of a human," said Sora sadly.

* * *

Sora was in a relatively small Ranger Base (he was placed in an out of a way one to keep the brat from finding him until it was all over) when he noticed something odd.

"Is that a Noctowl with a letter in it's claws?" he asked bewildered.

Ranger captain Micheal looked outside.

"That doesn't look like any Noctowl or Hoothoot I've ever seen. Not even the Shiny breed look like that!"

When the bird landed, it gave Sora a dirty look.

"Harry Potter? Who the heck is that?"

They left the mystery for later as there had been reports of a Mew nearby. Normally they wouldn't care, but the sad fact was that whenever a rare or legendary Pokémon was spotted, trainers had the bad habit of destroying their surroundings trying to catch it.

One of the unspoken jobs of a Pokemon Ranger was to repair the damage done by trainers.

So they had to find Mew and hopefully see if they could persuade it to go elsewhere, where it would be someone else's problem.

They didn't need a legendary Pokémon on _top_ of dealing with the mess that had already been dropped on Sora.

"Mew~"

"There it is!" said Sora.

"Alright. Sora, you capture it and explain the situation," said Mike.

Mainly because he had the strangest feeling Sora had to do it.

"Capture on!"

Sora looped his styler around fifty times (not in a row, because Mew kept breaking the circle) and didn't notice that the line had started to change colors with each successful loop.

"Mew~!" cried the tiny pink cat.

It's job was done, which was to pass on a rare gift from Giratina, since Mew could roam around a lot more discreetly than the Pokémon who ruled the Distortion World could.

* * *

A few days later, more creatures who greatly resembled Noctowl and Hoothoot kept showing up. But Sora had other worries.

"Mike, my styler's acting funny. I mean the lines it makes are the wrong color!"

"Show me," he said.

Sora looped his styler around a random Zigzagoon, and the colors were prismatic, not light blue as they were supposed to be.

"Now that is strange. I better call Professor Hastings!"

Professor Hastings came four days later with news.

"It appears that Sora's styler has been given a very rare type of energy. All my analysis say that it closely resembles that of Giratina."

"Seriously?" said Sora.

"I believe Mew may have come here to give you a piece of it's power, though why I have no idea."

"Maybe because of those weird Noctowls and Hoothoots outside?" said Mike dryly.

Professor Hastings looked and saw the birds, though they clearly _weren't_ Noctowls or Hoothoots.

"Oh my! Why didn't you contact us sooner! Those poor owls must be terribly frustrated!" said Hastings.

"What are 'owls'?" asked Sora.

"It's a rather unusual phenomena in our world. Every so often creatures called 'owls' appear to deliver special letters to young children to teach them how to control an odd power called magic. The thing is, those children have to pass through Giratina's Distortion World to get to the one that lives side-by-side ours. From what I can tell, Sora is one of those lucky children who can pass through it to the other dimension."

"Can I come back to this one?" he asked.

"Of course you can! Why else would the Ranger Union know so much about it? We're the ones in charge of patrolling the breech and regulating who comes here. Believe me, we've had some trouble in the past when ordinary wizards show up trying to run the place," said Hastings.

They had to go find Palkia and Dialga to fix the portal so that only those who knew what the Distortion world really was could come through. As wizards tended to think of Pokémon as lesser creatures, Giratina usually kicked them out.

* * *

Sora whooped with joy and Zeke (Zorua) barked with laughter as they flew on the Dragonite Bus to the Union Headquarters. Because they were going with Professor Hastings, they were allowed to see it despite the fact they had never been there before.

The requirement of the Dragonite Bus was that you had to know what the place looked like for them to take you there. And telling them from a picture wasn't good enough, as many rookie trainers learned the hard way.

Finally they landed, and Sora looked somewhat disappointed that the ride had ended.

"A fan of heights? You'll probably love the other side...those wizards have found a way to fly on brooms of all things," said Hastings with amusement.

"Here now, don't tell me they actually agreed to hand over that Zorua!" said one of the rangers in disbelief.

"Certainly not! But we may have found a way to keep them both from being found until the case is over," said Hastings.

"He a Potential then?" said the older Ranger.

"Apparently. There were a great many owls hanging around the Ranger Station he was at," said Hastings.

"What did they all say?"

"Harry Potter."

"Ah. In that case we better check with the goblins and get this sorted out straight away, or else we'll have a bigger headache later," said the older Ranger knowingly. He had a grimace on his face when he heard the name.

Sora was told to wait with the other 'potentials', which was the name given to all possible wizard candidates. Ever since the rift opened thirty years ago, Rangers have kept an eye out for magical potential so they could head off the owls. It saved them a headache of dealing with calls about birds who clearly weren't Pokémon in the areas. As Rangers they wanted to limit the damage of a non-native species in the world.

"Hey! My name's Joseph, what's yours?" asked a trainer.

"Sora. And this is Zeke."

"Cool, a Zorua! How'd you catch him?"

"I'm a Ranger, not a trainer. His mom was killed by this greedy trainer and since I was the only one it would warm up to, they assigned him as my partner," said Sora. Zeke barked in agreement, nuzzling his partner. As far as Zeke was concerned, Sora was his big brother.

"Ouch. I have one like that too, an Eevee. Poor little guy was being chased by one of them evil organizations bent on controlling Pokémon, and I rescued him. I had to dodge attempts to steal him when I was picked up by a Ranger and told I had the 'potential' to be a magical. I figure a few years out of my journey isn't going to kill me, and this way Evans and I can be safe while we get stronger."

"Did you say you're a ranger candidate?" spoke up a girl nearby. She was wearing the fake-ranger uniform, for those who wanted to be one, but had yet to pass the exam.

"No, I'm an actual ranger. I got lucky and was allowed to graduate the Academy early, but because of Zeke's mom being killed by her previous owner, I was sent to an out of the way Station until the mess could be sorted out."

"How old are you?" she asked, staring. He looked about the same age as she was!

"I'm eleven," said Sora grinning.

She blinked, then shook her head.

"Where are my manners. I'm Cindy."

"Sora Hoshino. What?"

"The same Sora Hoshino who graduated at the top of his class when he just turned eleven? The one who all the older Rangers are watching to see what you do next?" she asked with stars in her eyes.

"Um...yes?" said Sora.

"How do you know all that?"

"I'm a hacker, and this is my future partner Digit," she said simply, pulling out an old Pokéball. Inside was a Porygon2.

"You can't bring a Pokémon and expect it to be your partner. And the only ones allowed in the Academy are the ones that have been there for years or those like Zeke...too young to fend for themselves."

"I thought Pokémon Rangers who have already made a bond could bring theirs with them?" she said wide eyed. Sora shook his head.

"You aren't allowed to have a bonded Pokémon in the school unless it can't fend for itself. Zeke had to stay in the kennels where they keep the Pokémon who have already bonded but can't handle their surroundings until the trainee graduates. It cuts down on the fighting," explained Sora.

"Aw...and Digit was hoping to see the school with me," she said.

"Well Porygon2 _is_ a mostly digital Pokémon, so you might be able to get away with it living in the computer they have in the rooms so long as your roommates don't give you up. But then again if you explain to the teachers they might let you get away with it. None of my roommates had a Pokémon in there so I wouldn't know."

Suddenly one of the older Rangers came in.

"Alright kiddies, now my name is Ranger Richard, and I'll be your escort. Keep in mind that this is an entirely different world than ours, so those of you with Pokéballs, please put away your Pokémon for now. Those of you who are Rangers, or Ranger candidates, keep your partners hidden, if you can. The existence of our world isn't that well known, and we would like to keep it that way to avoid problems," said Richard.

One of the potentials raised their hand.

"Yes?"

"Why can't we have our Pokémon out, and why are Rangers the ones who take us there."

"The answer to your first question is simple. Past the Distortion World, where Giratina rules, there _are no Pokémon_. Now before any of you freak out, or start missing home, there is a rift that leads right back to the Distortion World and we have sign posts with the permission of Giratina that lead you back to the Ranger Union. Secondly, it was decided by the Elite Four and the Head of the Union at the time that Rangers, who work to keep the balance of nature in our world should be the ones to take the children to and from the other side, because we have experience and our capture stylers draw less attention than say, a rampaging Charizard. Now, there are magical creatures on the other side, and part of our agreement is that you all get a copy of the book that has most of the information in it for free on your first year through. I would advise that you read the book and make a note on the danger section as to how difficult it will be to come across them. We also have a second book that some of our more...enthusiastic members have made to compare these creatures to their Pokémon equivalent. You'll have to buy it though, and they cost a thousand Pokédollars."

Hearing this was sanction by not only the Elite Four (the very people most trainers dreamed of beating in a battle), but the head of the Ranger Union meant that this was a very serious matter.

"Also, I would like to remind you that should you get a pet, which according to tradition will be either an owl (he held up a picture of a bird that resembled Noctowl and Hoothoot), a cat (here he had a picture of a Meowth) or a toad (he held up a final picture of Politoad), that you should remember that they are not native animals in this world, and you should keep track of their actions at all times, or the Rangers will be asking questions and making you do paperwork."

That got many of the children to wince, and none of them enjoyed paperwork. Sora was one of the few who didn't, as he could care less. He had joined the Ranger Academy at an age where many would start their journeys, and had gotten used to doing homework.

"Everyone have their team in their Pokéballs? Rangers, remember to keep your partners out of sight for the moment," Richard called. Several flares of red, signaling the return of the Pokémon that had been let out, and they made their way through the Rift.

Technically there were openings in the Rift near places that had reflective qualities, mostly mirrors and clear lakes. But this was the most stable one and it only opened during a certain period of time in this specific place.

Giratina, the Pokémon that controlled the openings, had a deal with the Rangers so that they could come through with the potentials each year.

How, no one really knew, but it was a mystery that many have tried to figure out.


	41. Magical Mayhap Chapter One

It was his fourth year, and already he hated it. It wasn't enough that he had somehow gotten roped into this damn tournament. It wasn't enough that Ron finally showed his true colors and had abandoned him out of misguided jealousy when he could have used his support.

No, the entire school had to jump on the "Let's harass Harry for something he didn't do...again!" bandwagon.

So really, it wasn't that surprising that he decided to spend his weekend in the one place there wouldn't be anyone to harass or heckle him for something he wanted no part of...the infamous Chamber of Secrets.

And to think, Hermione had yelled at him when he told her he was going someplace quiet to get away from the idiots that inhabited the school.

Hermione didn't seem to realize that she would be left alone to read, that it was only Harry that the school was out for.

Harry wandered around the Chamber, feeling his rage dwindle down as he was able to think for a change.

It was because of the fact he wasn't really paying attention, that he completely missed the old man walking past him in formal robes and a silvery-white beard. Had he paid attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed that the man wasn't a ghost, and was looking unbearably smug as he vanished without a sound.

Inevitably, Harry's wandering feet took him through the same tunnel the old man had just left.

It was there that he found a set of books. Not just any books either.

"_Summoning Servants? Holy Grail War: Path to Akasha or waste of magic? How to Awaken and Use Your Magic Circuits, A Beginner's Guide to Magi?"_

Harry was completely bewildered by the titles, but that quickly turned to shock when he read the short, but to the point note left by the same geezer who had vanished.

"_**Harry Potter...**_

_**As you're reading this, I'm sure you're wondering who I am and why I left those books for you. The short and blunt answer was...I was bored and decided to mess with Fate in your world for a bit. Inside those books are certain rituals and spells that will help you defeat the annoying Dark Lord you have and annoy Dumbledore to no end. Now I'm guessing you're starting to get annoyed with the fact that I am blatantly messing with you. Don't take it personally, I do this with practically everyone at some point.**_

_**Zelretch."**_

Harry was torn between irritation that someone was deliberately screwing with him and surprise that they were admitting to it before they actually _did_ anything.

Still, it was either read some of the books or go back to wandering the Chamber out of boredom.

And his feet were murdering him. So he sat down in the convenient armchair, propped up his feet and started to read the one about Magi.

By the time dinner came around, Harry had managed to activate his circuits (judging by the book he had at least fifty well sized ones...painful as hell to wake them up though) and had found another book which wouldn't draw as much attention as the other ones he planned to keep in the Chamber to avoid Hermione finding them.

If she caught wind he had one-of-a-kind books in there, she would either strangle him or jump him. And since he viewed her as a sister at best, the idea of the second option made him gag.

It had been a surprise when he looked up the Potter genealogy and found out that Molly Weasley was in fact his second cousin, one who wasn't removed from the family tree.

That immediately knocked her daughter Ginny out of the running as a potential girlfriend. Harry wasn't into incest.

* * *

Hermione raised an eye at the book, but simmered down when he explained that reading was an excellent way to ignore everyone and a way to block conversation or rising to Malfoy's baiting.

Surprisingly, this tactic worked perfectly and soon it wasn't uncommon for Harry to be seen with a book in hand avoiding all chances to talk about what he planned to do for the first task.

In truth, he did have a plan, one that Dumbledore would no doubt be angered about.

One of the books he had read was about the tournament itself, and according to a by-law the only way he could be a champion was either A) by filling in for someone else, particularly a family member, B) by entering himself complete with his magical signature, or C) by having his magical guardian agree for him to enter.

Since Harry had changed his guardian when he went to Gringotts for his school supplies (Molly had offered to buy them for him, but he had decided to go himself because he wanted to get something from one of the stores) to Sirius, who almost certainly wouldn't want his godson in a tournament like this, there was actually very little reason for Harry to be _in_ the first task.

This choice to ditch the first task, magic or no magic was only cemented when he learned that the task would involve dragons.

And thanks to his brief glance at the wards around the Chamber (Salazar had put a lot of them up and tied them to a second ward stone inside the Chamber itself) he knew that magical scrying would keep his location a secret until the end of the task.

Which was why he chose to use that time instead to summon a Servant, according to the book's directions.

* * *

_Back in the stands..._

"Ms. Granger, have you see Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore kindly.

"Last I checked he was still in the library," she answered. Which was true.

What she didn't know was that Harry had left the library, gone to the loo in full view of five different people on the fifth floor, and promptly vanished after locking that door and climbing over the toilet. Anyone could unlock it with the unlocking charm from first year, so it wasn't that bad to leave it locked. And since no one looked up to see Harry sneaking out of there behind an older student under his cloak, no one could reasonably give Dumbledore an explanation as to where he had vanished to.

To further confuse the issue, Harry had gone into the Chamber through the second entrance, which was outside near the lake. That way Myrtle couldn't give up his location, and no one could bother him.

Which lead to a very long and rather tiring search of the castle for three hours, delaying the first task while they searched for the fourth champion.

Eventually they gave up, and the original three (considered the 'True' champions) went ahead and ran the guantlet of retrieving the egg.

All of them had been warned before hand (Fluer and Krum by their headmistress/headmaster and Cedric by Harry) which was why aside from a case of nerves, none of them were very surprised.

* * *

_Back in the Chamber..._

Harry drew the circle, using a paint brush he had ordered and two cans of red and white paint. It was massive, but workable. He had the chant memorized as he cut his right hand with a clean potion's knife and began the summoning.

"_**Hear thee!**_

_**I command thee to my side.**_

_**And entrust my fate in thy sword.**_

_**Heeding to the Holy Grail's refuge.**_

_**If thou surrenders to this will and reason,**_

_**answer my call.**_

_**Offer thine oath.**_

_**I embody Virtue in the Eternal World.**_

_**I chastise Evil in the Eternal World.**_

_**Thou art the Seven Heavens harboring the great spirit trinity.**_

_**Come forth O Keeper of the Balance!"**_

The circle glowed blood red as it absorbed Harry's blood, tainted as it was by basilisk venom and phoenix tears.

He could feel the magical build-up around him, as twin clouds of smoke appeared inside the circle.

The two voices asked in unison, the smoke vanishing.

"I ask of you, are you my Master?" they said.

Harry held up his right hand and noticed his left had markings on it as well. The saw the Command Spells on both hands as he said clearly "I am."

"Then by your summoning, Servant Rider (Servant Archer) have answered your call," they announced.

Harry felt like sweat dropping. Things just got a lot more complicated. He had been expecting animal familiars, not human ones!

Harry looked and finally found the part about Servants.

"Let's see...Servant Archer...good eyesight, often uses a bow and has limited magic... Huh, sounds like you're the equivalent of a Seeker in Quidditch. Servant Rider... decent magical stats, has high speed and limited luck... cool. Sounds like you would be an excellent Chaser."

The two servants remained impassive, though they were confused by the terms.

"Master, I hear cheering and roars above us."

"Thank god...they must have given up looking for me and gone ahead and started that stupid task," said Harry with relief to Archer's words.

"Task?"

"I was illegally entered in a tournament known for getting students killed, and the first task was to get past a dragon. I've had my fill of near death experiences from my first three years here, and had no desire to add to it, hence why I chose to hide here and summon you two instead of hiding above and being found."

Even though the twins had given him the map, he didn't doubt for a second Dumbledore could use the school wards against him.

The two servants looked a bit angry at that news, that someone had dared to kill their master through a deadly tournament instead of facing him head-on.

"Well, while we wait for tomorrow to come, why don't we tell each other about ourselves? My name is Harry Potter, student wizard."

That relaxed them slightly, as they gave brief, if not very informative explanations as to who they were. The second Rider said she recognized the breed of snake still dead in the main chamber and her affinity towards them, Harry proceeded to shock her and Archer with his snake speech.

It certainly endeared him to his purple-haired Servant, learning they had a common language and love of animals.

At least she was able to help him harvest the basilisk, which thankfully hadn't started to smell. Now he just had to pay the goblins to make armor out of it.

(He promised to make a dagger with one of the basilisk fangs for Rider and a smaller one for Archerko, as she insisted on being called.)

* * *

By morning Harry snuck out of the Chamber, and went straight to the kitchens for breakfast so he wouldn't have to deal with the teachers or Hermione yelling at him.

(He bribed the twins with five hundred galleons so they could have a start on what they would need to make their prank shop. In exchange for being their partner, they supplied him with info and goods.)

Unfortunately he was caught by McGonagall, as one of the first year Hufflepuffs had seen him enter the portrait.

"Mr. Potter! Why weren't you at the task yesterday?" she all but demanded.

"Because the by-law of the tournament said that unless I entered myself willingly or standing in for another it means that I am not legally obligated to join the damn tournament. If I had faced those dragons, then the magic of the goblet would have forced me to join in the other two as well, and frankly I don't feel like pandering to the magical communities odd desire to see me served up as a sacrifice," said Harry flatly, his eyes cold.

McGonagall stared at him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I looked up the tournament rules. Because of the high risk of death, all champions have to enter _voluntarily_ or else the magic doesn't take hold. Since I stayed far from the cup and have no desire to join in the tasks, I get to keep my magic and stay out of this death trap you call a tournament. Dumbledore sure as hell wasn't looking for any loopholes to keep me out, so I looked them up," said Harry angrily.

"Langauge! And that's Headmaster Dumbledore," she corrected.

"Professor, when he found out I had been entered, he told me I _had_ to perform in the tasks or lose my magic. He didn't even bother to look up the original rules, which were only added to, not removed. Had he done so, instead of relying on that man Crouch's word that there wasn't anything I could do, I wouldn't have had to hide from everyone yesterday. I am not pandering to their insane desire to see me jump through hoops," said Harry flatly.

McGonagall seemed to look a cross between relieved and upset.

"I can show you where I found the rule book. Because Hogwarts is one of the original schools that host the tournament, we had a copy in the library."

The moment she read that rule that meant Harry wouldn't have to compete, she gave him twenty points for finding the loophole, and gave him permission to remain in his hiding spot during the next two tasks to be sure he wouldn't be forced to do so.

* * *

"Albus! Why didn't you mention that all champions had to be entered voluntarily or else the entry was invalid?" demanded the cat animagus in front of the two other headmasters.

"What ez this about Dumblydor?" asked Madam Maxime.

McGonagall looked at her before she held out the book for the French headmistress to read.

"It's under the by-laws of the original tournament. All champions have to be entered voluntarily or be standing in for another in order for their entry to be valid. Mr. Potter came across this by accident and knew that he had to hide during the first task to avoid be forced to compete against his will," she informed them.

"Is this true Albus? Were you trying to have an illegal champion in the tournament?" demanded Karkaroff angrily.

"Mr. Potter has expressed his desire to avoid coming to the tasks to avoid being forced to enter, thus giving Hogwarts an unfair advantage against the other two schools. According to him, he wants to avoid the 'walking death trap' that is the tournament, even if it means not being able to see the tasks in person," McGonagall informed them.

It took little time for the portraits in the Headmaster's office to spread word about this development.

* * *

Almost immediately the student's personalities took a one-eighty towards Harry, to his annoyance. The worst was Ron, who seemed to think that Harry was his best friend again. Harry, however, had other ideas.

"So, you believe that just because I found a way out of this death trap tournament that it's alright to come slinking back like nothing's happened?" growled Harry.

Ron blinked, as Harry rounded on the boy in full view of everyone in the school and half of the foreign students.

"You think that I would let you waltz up like you didn't turn your back on me out of misguided jealousy? That I would automatically forgive you for shunning me just because someone thought it would be amusing to force me in a tournament I vocally said I wanted nothing to do with? That I actually _enjoy_ being famous for my parents dying in front of me when I didn't because of a _fluke_? Or should I go over the first three years of this school?" hissed Harry angrily.

"Mate, I..."

"Let's go over the facts shall we? First year, you insult Hermione and she nearly gets killed because you were an insensitive prat and called her an insufferable know-it-all without any friends when all she was trying to do was help you. Then there was that illegal duel that I didn't want anything to do with, yet you accepted it for me! We could have been killed because of your stupidity! And let's not forget that gauntlet in the third floor! If you hadn't goaded me into going down to the damn stone, I wouldn't have missed nearly five days of school from the injuries I got!" said Harry with a snarl. As Harry detailed Ron's faults, he noticed that quite a few were looking disapproving towards them. Notably at Ron for the fact he had abandoned someone who was his best friend out of misguided jealousy.

Harry ended his rant by saying quite loudly in the great hall that he wished he had been sorted into Hufflepuff, because at least they understood what house loyalty meant. He also said he didn't blame them for the fact that they had shunned him because some idiot had put his name in, but rather commended them for defending their Champion because of the fact someone had tried to enter him illegally and took the honor that rightfully belonged to them.

Harry left the great hall and saw with some surprise and relief that the Hufflepuff house looked quite embarrassed, mostly because of their treatment of Harry who had been nothing but civil to them. Some even remembered the whole 'Heir of Slytherin' fiasco, and how they had been saved by the same person they had heaped abuse on unfairly.

To make matters worse, Cedric told them who it was that warned them of the dragons, and how Harry had informed him he would be hiding for that day to avoid being dragged into the farce when Cedric had been the true champion that the cup had chosen.


	42. Rebirth of Phoenix Chapter One

Shiro Emiya had the dreams again. The boy in them looked nothing like him, except perhaps the facial structure was remotely similar. Aside from that, most of them were sad or cruel towards the child.

The people that used him, those that pretended to be his friends only to try and manipulate him...the old man that ruined his life and the madman who tried to end it.

He used to get through them by telling them to Kiritsugu, his adopted father. Aside from giving him some rather foul tasting vials, Shiro eventually managed to ignore them.

Though he did have some misgivings when he was granted a full scholarship to the nearest Japanese Magical school, who promptly set up a portal in the unused guest house for him to get to and from school. He didn't mind, as there were actually a few Magi in the academy who corrected his mistaken use of circuits. It had taken months, but eventually he got used to using his magical circuits correctly.

Shiro was now seventeen, ten years after the Fuyuki fire that claimed his family. Or so he believed.

He had no idea that the war to come would rock the very foundations of his life, down to the core of who he was. It wouldn't be because of the fact that his father's daughter Ilya was in Fuyuki, or the Archer servant that was him in the not so distant future where his ideals became so twisted that it nearly destroyed his dream.

No, the event that would change a great many things would be not from his future, but from his past. Specifically the events _before_ the Fuyuki Fire...and for once it wouldn't be his adopted father's fault he was in it.

* * *

Shiro stared in shock at the beautiful blond maiden in battle armor.

"I ask of you, are you my Master?"

He shakily said "Yes."

"Then by the blessing of the Grail's Refuge, I, servant Saber have answered your call."

She charged at Lancer, the Irish hero looking quite put out at her abrupt summoning and her protection of the boy who lived after his attack. For some reason the idea of being called the boy-who-lived rankled him, though Shiro had no idea why.

Still, he watched and observed.

Aside from stopping her from attacking Rin, who had come to either investigate or take out Lancer when she realized her mistake, the night was rather uneventful.

Then Shiro had the nightmares again. He had thought he had moved past them after Kiritsugu died and the teachers showed him how to use his natural circuits.

* * *

_Shiro's Dream..._

"_Are you sure this will work? I won't remember anything?" asked the boy, now a man. He looked world weary, almost like Kiritsugu did before his death._

"_We are sure _Human_. This potion will forcibly reverse your age, and this time-turner will return you to seven years old. Your memories will have to be extracted manually when you get to Japan. And may I say that I hope you choke on it," sneered the creature. A goblin, his memories provided._

_There was no love lost between the two. He remembered that the goblins were doing this because one, the man had promised that they could have the gold in his account provided another didn't rise to take his place as the Lord Potter, and two, because the effort it would take to sustain his seven-year-old self in the same country was likely to kill him anyway, never mind what removing twenty years of memories would do to him._

_He'd be little more than a shell, only slightly better off than those Kissed by a dementor, and the goblins knew it._

_That was the primary reason they agreed to help and hide what he had done from everyone else. He had royally pissed them off during the war, breaking into their bank and setting that dragon loose, so the fact he was willing to do this to himself just to be free for the first time in his life...well, they were giddy to help him. Mostly because the odds of him living through this long enough to reclaim the gold was next to nil, and he had written in his will that should he die and no one stepped up to reclaim the vaults, it would go to the goblins._

_His way of 'thanking' the magical communities for turning him into a weapon. It would piss off everyone who assumed they would get a share of the Potter, Black, Peverell and Slytherin fortunes, including his former friends. Out of them, only George and his godson Teddy would see a single knut._

_Everyone else could go to hell for all he cared._

_Two days later he flipped the odd pendant around his neck ten times, and the drain on his magic nearly killed him. It took some fast talking, but he eventually ended up in Japan after changing the most of his vaults aside from his trust to the name Shiro Black._

_Since the goblins had no reason not to hate him, they changed all the vaults he had access to legally to that name, except for the trust which would still be tied to the original Potter vault._

_There was also the fact that he had most of it transferred to Japan, and recalled all items inside. The house elves bound to the families had their bonds renewed, and he had the magical academy give his eleven-year-old self a full scholarship in four years so he could be trained properly this time._

_Once he had settled all his accounts, he had the healers remove all of his memories except for one, which would undo the bindings should the need arise._

_Once he had his hair, eyes and most of his features changed so no one would link him to his old self, he deliberately used the memory charm to remove all knowledge of who he once was or what would happen during the war. As hard as Sirius and Remus' death was, he knew that they would understand why he was doing this._

_He couldn't go back, not if he wanted a chance to live as his own person, instead of a weapon for the Ministry to unleash on anyone who tried to disagree with them._

_He hated his nickname as the Minister's Attack Dog._

_Green eyes, now a hazel brown looked in the mirror once last time before the charm took full effect. The next memory showed him being taken in by a kindly old couple who treated him like their grandson, even making him the heir of their minor vaults to keep their greedy squib relatives from getting their hands on it._

_Then he got hit with a flaming beam of wood, and lost all memories before Kiritsugu rescued him, making him Shiro Emiya._

Shiro shot up from his bed, unaware that Saber had seen everything due to their bond.

Finding out that her master was in fact twice his age and had been forced to do something so drastic...well, it was naturally a shock to her as it was to him.

Which was the only reason she brought up the minor bounded field she had noticed on one of the drawers, undoubtedly his father's work as it had the same feel as Kiritsugu.

Shiro opted to look at it later when they were alone.

* * *

Shiro firmly placed his hand on the drawers handle, doing his best to ignore the bounded field that had hidden it so effectively for nine years. His adopted father had placed several things in there before his death, most of them belonging to the Wizard known as Harry Potter, Master of Death.

And that he only knew because Shiro had let it slip while half asleep trying to recover from his 'nightmares' as he thought they were.

What he didn't know was that Kiritsugu had gone straight to the Japanese bank that was run by Oni and demanded a full explanation as to why Shiro had the memories of a British wizard.

It was only natural that the infamous Magus Killer be shocked that his adopted son had been an even more heartless killer than he had at his prime, and had deliberately broken several laws of magic to correct it and give himself a second chance.

Kiritsugu might have tried the same, if it wasn't for the fact he suspected his curse would kill him anyway if he tried. Instead he changed his training methods so Shiro wouldn't panic when he killed someone to protect another. Only time would tell if it worked.

Shiro opened the drawer and found a few things. One was a letter, with his father's handwriting. One was a cloak, a ring with a chipped stone, and a pale white wand the color of bones. They had an ominous feel to them, and Shiro knew he couldn't touch them unless his need was dire enough. The final thing inside was a medium sized bottle with a stopper keeping the silvery liquid inside from spilling. Shiro could feel the bottle was reinforced so much that the glass would never break.

So he read the letter first.

He did it aloud so Saber would hear it with him.

"_Dear Shiro,_

_ If you are reading this, that means whatever charm you used after you came to Japan has broken enough that you remember how you ended up in Fuyuki. While I was surprised to find out that my son was in fact the so called 'boy-who-lived' from England, sent back to get a second chance, it didn't change my feelings for you in the least._

_The three items in the drawer, the cloak, wand and ring, are part of a set called the Deathly Hallows, which you apparently completed shortly before coming to the past and insuring you had a decent future. Whatever you do, don't take them out unless the need is very great, as I am fairly sure you might risk a paradox if you did. The jar is in fact your original memories, given to me by the Oni when I asked and proved my adoption of you. I'm sure you remember that foul vial I gave you shortly after your ninth birthday._

_That was a blood adoption potion, and it insured that you wouldn't vanish because you were in two places at once. For all intents and purposes, you are Shiro Emiya. This will protect you from Gaia's attempts to correct the twin existences and give you quite a bit of protection from the British Ministry should they ever discover you had gone back into the past and removed all Potter influence from their control._

_Whatever they might say, if they ever do find you, you owe them absolutely nothing. I have seen some of the memories you left behind and all I will say of the matter is that they burned any bridges that could have tied you to them first, not the other way around. To be honest I am amazed your original self never went on a killing spree for the injustices committed against you and your family._

_If, as I fear, the Grail War has indeed started early, then I have one request. I am fairly certain you will summon _my_ Servant from the previous war, a girl named Saber. This is inevitable, and I feel I owe her an apology for forcing her to destroy the Grail._

_Saber, if you are listening to this, I am sorry. I had no other choice, because the Grail has been corrupted by Angra Mainyu, the root of all evil in the world. Had I not forced you with the command spells to destroy it, it would have hatched and done more damage than it did with that fire. From what I can ascertain, it was corrupted sometime the war previous. I have no idea how to fix it. Nor do I know if it _can_ be fixed with mortal magic._

_Shiro, if you truly wish to learn who you were before, then go to the Oni run bank and ask for the pensieve that was in my vault. Magi aren't the only ones I worked with, and one of the payments for a job was a penseive which will take the silvery liquid and turn them into memories the two of you can see._

_I can only hope you survive this Shiro._

_Kiritsugu Emiya."_

Shiro took a deep breath, looking at the letter with something akin to shock. He never knew that Shiro wasn't his real name. And he remembered vividly that awful tasting potion. The resulting aftermath of drinking it had made him feel weird for weeks afterwards.

What he didn't know was that an unexpected side effect of the potion was that he automatically inherited what few circuits Kiritsugu had left when he died. It had been made by a magus, so that was one of the side effects.

Considering how rarely a magus would consider handing over their crest and circuits over to a relative stranger, it was almost never used unless the child in question had been adopted. The fact Kiritsugu trusted Shiro enough to use it spoke volumes about how much he respected his original self and the boy's character.

Though Shiro still had trouble using the Emiya crest without the backlash biting him in the ass.

"I don't believe it. The amount of magic needed to come back in the past and keep Gaia from erasing the newer presence..." said Saber in shock.

While she wasn't a magus in the conventional sense, Merlin _had_ taught her quite a few things, among which was why it was almost impossible for her to go into the past and change her history. The amount of magic needed was beyond ridiculous, it was suicidal to try.

It was why she had wanted the Grail in the first place, so she wouldn't die from the attempt. For someone to actually succeed was simply amazing...and also raised the question why she only had the bare minimum to sustain her. Surely his reserves would have restored themselves after ten years?

Shiro reluctantly got ready for school tomorrow. He had sensed a bounded field around it and knew something horrible would happen should it activate.

He wanted to get rid of it without relying on Rin to help.

* * *

_In England, a month after Harry Potter-Black successfully managed to get out from under the Ministry's eyes and thumb..._

Ragnarok was pissed. The human had managed to trick them! How he had survived going into the past long enough to get blood adopted by that Magus he had no idea, but the human was out of their reach forever.

As far as Gaia was concerned, Shiro Emiya was Harry Potter's twin brother. The fact he never existed until seven years ago was a moot point. Because Shiro had been blood adopted by a magus and had different training, he wasn't the same human and could therefor be in two places at the same time without Gaia seeking to correct it.

Had the goblin known how far Shiro had gone to prevent being erased, he might have had a modicum of respect for the lengths he went to. Might being the key word.

The Ministry was ready to incite another goblin war just to get their hands on Harry Potter, because after he went into the past the spells they had forced on him were shattered irrevocably by the flames during the Fuyuki Fire.

The magic that caused the flames had been more than enough to rip apart those spells, and made it impossible for them to find Potter.

Needless to say there were a great many people angry about this, and even more thrilled because it meant Harry wouldn't be forced to hurt them anymore, despite the fact he hated doing so to begin with.

It was a race against time to see who would find Harry Potter...and if they lived to see the result of finding him.


	43. Enchanted Portal Chapter One

_A long time ago, there were two groups of wizards._

_One group cast spells using staffs, the other group used a smaller version. Neither could come to an agreement over who's way of using magic was correct, let alone traditional. It was quite a quandary._

_Then a new disagreement permanently forced them to split apart. One wizard discovered a spell which would allow him to drain magic from the surroundings instead of from within. Many wizards took to this example and it wasn't long before a good portion of the wizards started to cast spells in this manner._

_The argument which finalized their problem came from the head of the group who refused to DRAIN magic from the Earth. His name was Myrddin._

_Angry at their complete disregard for Magical Life, the other group left past a portal in a magical forest. They found life on the other side more to their liking, and stayed. _

_Five generations passed, and the disagreement between the two groups had finally settled to a point where no one was casting spells at each other. That is, until someone married the wrong type of wizard and set it off again._

_Mryddin, tired of the endless bickering and still sore over losing his King, sealed off the other world. But he was not completely heartless._

_He left a portal for future generations to use to return, provided they had the patience for it._

_Now, when the moon changes it's natural color the portal opens. Many have come and gone at will, particularly the descendants of the witch and wizard who came from opposing sides of the whole debate._

_The portal has remained unused for centuries, and many have forgotten it exists. Every once in a while a brave witch or wizard will find about it and venture into the woods when the moon changes it's coloring. They would often return very quickly spouting tales of a fantastical world which could only be dreamed of._

_A world where magic is common and they could live in peace with those who couldn't cast a simple light spell. These brave souls grew tired of the secrecy, the mocking and the utter cruelty of their fellows, and often settled down in this strange world with no thought of return._

_Today there is a young wizard. His name is Harry. Like his father, and his father before him many times over, Harry is a wizard. He has no knowledge of the other side, or of the portal. But that will soon change..._

* * *

Harry couldn't sleep. He had heard the moon was going to be an odd color tonight, and it wasn't because of a planet getting in the way. Last year he had missed it, but this year he had convinced the teacher to let him join the older students in observing it. Supposedly it would last the entire night, but Harry really wanted to see it slowly change color.

Ron and Hermione wanted nothing to do with it. Hermione didn't want to go because she had seen it last year and didn't think it that interesting to see again. Ron was just plain lazy and preferred sleep. Harry had to kick him to stay awake during astronomy class.

According to the twins, Harry would be the only Gryffindor who would see the moon change color. No one else wanted to go.

(Well, the twins did, but last time they went to see it they had been banned from returning under pain of death. Apparently they had said something to annoy the Astronomy teacher greatly. Harry had a sneaking suspicion as to _what_ they said.)

Percy had handed him a special pass so he could stay up late and not get into trouble with Filch. Snape could care less, since the nights that the moon changed were his nights off, and he liked to sleep.

Harry grabbed his bag. Inside was his cloak, some food he got from the kitchens (the twins had told him where to find them and how to get in) and a camera. He had asked if anyone had bothered to take a picture of the event, and found no one had.

Since the phenomena occurred every year on the same day since the time of Merlin, no one had thought it very special at all. Harry thought that was rather silly, since no one had been able to explain _why_ the moon changed color.

Harry snapped a few photos at five minute intervals. He managed to capture the change in it's entirety. And with some help from Hermione, he would have the moon change happen in a single photo.

And he took good shots too. (He had borrowed Colin's camera, and had promised to buy three new rolls of film for the boy in exchange for borrowing the camera. Colin had upped the deal by somehow convincing Harry to sign at least four photos of himself.)

Once the moon had completely changed, most of the students left. They only came to see it shift colors. It would stay like that for the rest of the night and for the next night if they were lucky. Harry on the other hand stayed for another hour before he left.

He had no idea that Filch was in that corridor and would pass by him in another five minutes.

Fortunately Harry had put on his cloak. It had been cold up in the tower, and with everyone gone no one would notice he had the cloak.

Filch passed him by, but Mrs. Norris didn't. She stared at the spot where he was suspiciously, but with the pass there really wasn't any reason Filch could get him into trouble. He was allowed up in the tower for as long as he wished to observe the moon.

Harry slipped past the two and noted with some relief that the cat didn't bother to follow him.

He silently sighed with relief. He had checked the pass before he left the common room.

If Harry found the Astronomy tower too crowded (which had happened before), it allowed him to go observe it somewhere else without receiving detention. So he decided to put that pass to good use. It would be valid until the moon went back to normal after all.

He grinned. Time to explore the castle!

* * *

He didn't know how or what possessed him to go into the Forest. All he remembered was Peeves chasing him (even though the poltergeist couldn't see him) and then he was outside.

Peeves decided to be a bigger pain than usual, because somehow he locked all the doors into the castle. At least the ones he could safely reach. Any of the others were too far away for them to be any good.

He thought about asking Hagrid if he could spend the night in his hut. (He could blame Peeves for chasing him outside without him realizing it. Since Peeves had braced the doors it was a half truth at best.) But once he got close he heard the distinct sound of someone snoring very loudly. Hagrid probably had the night off as well.

So Harry went into the Forest. He hoped the Centaurs wouldn't mind him being there. They hadn't been thrilled the first time he met them.

He blinked.

This didn't look like a portion of the Forest he was familiar with. The air was cheerful, for one thing. And the trees were much bigger than he was used to. And was that the sun?

He walked farther in and realized that the sun was shining. He was thoroughly confused now.

It had been midnight when he had been locked out. The sun shouldn't be up for another five hours at the least! Yet he could plainly see that it was roughly noon.

He heard a crack behind him. A little old lady with a cane smiled at him.

"Are ye lost deary?"

"Yes ma'am," said Harry. He saw no point to lie.

"I can lead you to the edge of the forest, but my ol' bones are creaking and I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast. Would you be so kind as to share some bread with an old woman?"

The old lady sat on a rock with a little moss at the bottom. There was a medium sized one next to it.

Harry sat down and dug through his bag. He found the food he swiped from the kitchens and passed it to her. He only had a good sized loaf of bread and a small wheel of soft cheese left. But the woman was more than happy with the meager fare.

"Sorry I don't have any more. I was observing the moon and ate most of it," said Harry apologetically.

"That's alright deary..." the woman started, then paused, "Did you say you were observing the moon?"

"Yes. It was night when I went up to watch the moon change color with some other students. I left later than the others and was chased out by a rather annoying poltergeist. He seemed to think it was funny to lock me out."

The woman looked at him shrewdly and asked "Did you happen to come through a forest under the moon's glow?"

Harry nodded. The moon had shown brightly enough through the forest that he could see where he was going. Now that he thought back, it was a bit odd. The trees were rather dense.

"That explains it then. Oh well, you'll find out where you are soon enough," shrugged the old woman. She sat up, and Harry noted her bones weren't creaking like earlier.

She turned to him, and he was startled. She didn't look nearly as old as before!

"Since you showed an old lady some kindness, I'll tell you a secret. I'm really a fairy. My sisters and I often pretend to be old women asking for some bread or other foods in exchange for a blessing. If people show kindness, they are blessed with a gift or favor. If they show greed then they are cursed."

She pointed her finger at him.

"You shall now be able to communicate in any language you come across. Have fun!"

She vanished.

Harry blinked. That was...strange. He got up and started walking. As he walked, he thought back to how strange the day had been.

Hermione turned down a chance to earn bonus points for Astronomy. That was unusual, but he could see that happening. Ron deciding to sleep instead of going with him. Again, it was unusual but Ron had probably seen the moon change color before. The twins banned from the Tower on those nights.

Harry paused. That was very likely. He dismissed it.

The other students leaving him alone long enough for him to put on his invisibility cloak. Unusual, but he could live with that. Mrs. Norris not following him. That struck him as odd at the time, but he had counted his blessings.

Then things really turned odd. Peeves would normally _never_ lock a student outside at night. Especially since the Bloody Baron or Dumbledore might take offense to it. Hagrid having the night off on the day the moon changed.

Harry felt like kicking himself. He should have known something was up about that. If Hagrid had the day off during those nights, then the twins would have taken the opportunity to run into the forest. They would never turn down a chance like that!

The conspicuous absence of the centaurs. The lack of animal noises in the forest.

He should have realized something was up sooner. Still, he didn't see anything wrong with it. He had met a nice fairy (who had apparently blessed him with something) and had realized he wasn't in the forest anymore.

So yes, his day was definitely shot to hell.

Harry found the strangest patch of what appeared to be blue flowers. He bent down to sniff it, and realized with a start that it was catnip. He thought about taking a sample...until he realized he didn't have anything to put it in. Neville would probably love to look at it.

He went through the patch and noted an odd wave following him. He decided to not pay it any mind.

He already had quite enough with the talking squirrel who advised him to go to see Morwen. Upon learning she was a witch, he felt a little better about the idea.

The lion had nearly scared him witless though. But it gave good directions.

(Unknown to Harry, the forest he was walking through decided to shift him closer to Morwen's house. It _liked_ him.)

Harry stared. This was not what he expected at all. There were at least five cats of varying colors decorating the porch. And they all turned as one to face him.

"Um...hello. I was told to see Morwen?" he said hesitantly.

One of the cats yowled "Morwen! Visitor!"

_Okay...so apparently I can understand cat language now..._thought Harry.

A short ginger haired woman appeared at the front door. She seemed a little annoyed.

"What is it?"

"I was told by a squirrel to come see you. I'm a bit lost."

"Might as well come in. Watch the front stool...a gnome stole one of the supports."

Harry walked into the house, and nearly jumped.

There was a dragon in the kitchen. It looked at him with amusement to his reaction.

"Hello. Who might you be?" it asked.

"Harry. Nice to meet you...?"

"Kazul."

"Nice to meet you Kazul," said Harry, holding out his hand. Kazul looked both amused and interested. It held out a front claw and Harry shook it. Morwen watched with interest.

She smiled. She looked less imposing now. Harry noted there were at least six cats on the dragon, and another three sitting elsewhere.

"So where are you heading Harry?" asked Morwen, pouring out what Harry assumed was cider. It smelled like apples.

"Actually I was coming back from observing the moon when a poltergeist thought it would be funny to lock me out. I would have stayed with a friend, but he was asleep and I didn't want to wake him."

They looked at him, startled. Harry noted that Kazul discreetly looked outside to see if it was still day. It was.

"Where did you say you came from?" asked Kazul.

"Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tonight was the night that the moon changes color and I went to see it. I came down from the tower later than the other students and Peeves decided to play a prank on me," Harry scowled. He really didn't like Peeves.

"Did you..."

"I went into the forest hoping the centaurs would at least put up with me for the night. I didn't realize that the sun was shining until five minutes after that."

Morwen snorted.

"You came through the Portal then. No wonder you were confused."

"Portal?"

"Two thousand years ago the Society of Wizards erected a Portal to separate the worlds. One group absorbs magic from the surrounding area, the other using the magic present in themselves. They had a feud going on for over a thousand years about which was the right way until one went to another world. Then some idiot married into the other group and the leader of those that split sealed the place off. With the minor exception of when the moon changes color," explained Morwen.

Harry sipped his cider. It was rather good. He noted that there was a cat on his lap and absently petted it. Morwen gave him a look of approval when the cat started to purr.

"So the reason I'm here is because the moon changed color?"

"That, and you have to enter a place with enough trees to be called a forest."

"How do I get back?"

"From what I've read, you simply have to wish hard enough while walking through the woods. There was a book about the portal..." said Morwen. She went through the back door and he blinked in surprise.

What he thought was a door to the outside lead into a massive library that rivaled the one at the school. Morwen came out with a book.

"Del Rey's _The Society of Wizards History._ This is my second copy of the book. It has an entire section about the split between the wizards."

She handed the book to Harry, who politely thanked her. Kazul looked at him with interest.

"So what did you think of the Enchanted Forest?" asked Kazul.

"Was that the woods I came through?" asked Harry. They nodded.

"It was pretty interesting, though I don't think I could ever get used to a squirrel yelling at me."

"Why did it yell at you?"

Harry looked embarrassed.

"I had accidentally stepped into it's stash of nuts. I was pretty freaked out when I heard it talking," he admitted.

"Most things can talk here," said Morwen.

"Oh. But it seemed like a regular tree squirrel to me," said Harry.

"Did you happen to speak to anyone before you came here?" asked Morwen. She had noted something interesting on him.

"Well before I talked to the squirrel I gave what I thought was an old woman what was left of my snack. She pointed at me and said I would be able to communicate in any language."

They nodded. That cleared up a few things.

"You came across a fairy. It's a good thing you ran into a nice one," said Morwen.

Kazul went to leave. Harry decided to stay the night, since he had no idea how to get back. Morwen had told him it was a bad idea to go into the forest at night.

(Much to his amusement, he seemed to have gained an ally in one of the cats. Morwen told him the cat's names, and he almost laughed. Apparently Chaos had taken a liking to him.)

* * *

The next morning he surprised Morwen by making breakfast. The cats all surrounded him.

"Good morning!" he said. She blinked in surprise. Then helped him make it.

Harry decided to attempt a return. He hoped he could get back home.

Morwen packed a lunch for him just in case, and advised him on what to avoid. Harry set off (and borrowed a glass jar which he put some catnip in for Neville) and went into the woods. His bag now had a small jug of cider and the book about the Portal from Morwen.

Harry blinked when he saw the scenery change. From bright and cheerful to dark and depressing. He looked around. The Enchanted Forest was gone! He heard a loud hoot and looked up.

Hedwig!

His owl appeared to be very cross with him. He narrowly avoided getting pummeled by her wings.

"Ow! Hedwig, what's gotten into you?"

_YOU DISAPPEARED FOR HOURS IS WHAT!_

Harry yawned. He was too tired to interpret what his owl was saying to him. Ron had once commented on how weird it was that he understood her so well.

"Could you lead me back to the castle?" he asked finally.

_That was a strange dream..._thought Harry as he headed to the castle. Hedwig was as white as a ghost, and could be seen easily in the dim forest.

Once he got the door, he tested it. Someone had noticed it was locked and had opened it. Probably McGonagall.

He checked around and saw that no one was around. He put on his cloak and went straight to the dorms.

The light of morning was starting to show...


End file.
